Hymn to Fayth
by At the End of Dreaming
Summary: Ziggy awakens an ancient power within himself and ends up joining the Rangers before he could ever join the Cartels. Dillon is guided to Corinth by a mysterious voice and learns the values of trust, friendship, love, and faith. Slash, Diggy
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own the Power Rangers or anything related to the franchise. I have also used abilities from the Final Fantasy games, most notably Final Fantasy 10, none of which I own. Warnings: Slash, Dillon/Ziggy, future character death.**

Hymn to Fayth

Chapter 1

Ziggy wasn't sure this was the best position for him to be in. He watched the military personal work on clearing up the street, warm blanket thrown over his shoulders to ward off the shock, held there by his loose, slightly trembling fingers. He was sitting in the back of an ambulance, having already been cleared by the medics as having nothing more than a few scratches.

Just moments before the street had been flooded with Grinders and people and choking fear. The Power Rangers, still new, still inexperienced, had fought hard and tried not to be overwhelmed. They had managed to hold on just long enough for back up to arrive. He had been right in the middle of it. He had stood in the street, struggling not to fall down as people rushed past, pushing at his sides and urging him to stumble. Fear had tightened his throat, horror had widened his eyes, and terror had frozen him in place. A knot had formed in his stomach.

A hand dropped onto his shoulder, startling him out of his daze. He looked up, squinting against the bright, albeit fake, light. One of the Rangers stood before him, her brown eyes kind, her long hair the color of grain. A memory flash through his head.

_He wasn't sure when he had started to run but suddenly his feet were pounding against the ground and the world was flashing by him. He looked up in to see, out of the corner of his eyes, the Yellow Ranger struggling against a group of Grinders, having been separated from the other two. She nee__ded help, fast!_

'Don't do it, Zig.' _he told himself, even though he knew he would do it anyway. He had already turned to help her when she stumbled. In the seconds it took her to regain her footing, the Grinders were on her. "Hey Lady! Get down!" he shouted. He didn't think before he tackled her, sending them tumbling to the ground, out of the way of the Grinders. He looked up. The Grinders were surrounding them again. Gulping, he squeezed his eyes shut and thought as strongly as he could. '_Somebody HELP!'

_Fire raced through his body, burning him from the inside. For a few seconds all he could feel was pain. Then the fire died down to a pleasant, almost comforting warmth. He threw his hand out without thinking just as something flared a bright white, blinding both him and the woman he had been trying to protect._

"Are you okay?" The Yellow Ranger asked. He offered her a weak, shaky grin and nodded. He was rewarded with a warm smile. "I'm glad." She whispered. "Thank you for saving me."

Summer smiled at the boy sitting in front of her. His hair was a chocolate brown color, curly and messy, which high-lighted his ivory pale skin. His eyes were wide and had lingering traces of terror but were otherwise kind and innocent, a depth-less brown color that drew her in. He was young and seemingly fragile and defenseless.

But Summer knew better.

_Summer groaned when she hit the ground, immediately trying to push the young, unknown man's weight off of her. She was thankful for the help but she knew they needed to move or risk getting trapped by the Grinders. The boy moved off of her suddenly, looking up at the Grinders with wide, fearful eyes. Before she could do anything he threw his hand up._

_There was a bright, almost violent flash of light, making her close her eyes. For a single moment she felt safe and warm and whole as the light washed over her, in a way she never had before. Then she opened her eyes. Both her and the young man were surrounded by a glowing, white-gold shield. It spun with energy and crackled where the Grinders tried to get in. She turned wide eyes towards the boy to see the hand he had thrown up was glowing the same beautiful color as the shield._

She sat down next to her savior, the young man whose name she still had yet to learn. He was trembling. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders automatically and drew him closer. Despite the amount of power she had seen him display, he felt small in her embrace; delicate and shaking and it made her want to protect him the same way he'd protected her. "I'm Summer Landsdown." She introduced.

He looked up at her with those wide, innocent eyes as he leaned into the safety of her hold. "Ziggy Grover." He told her. She smiled at him. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ziggy." She whispered, trying to make her voice sound comforting.

Ziggy returned her smile, his softer and warmer than her own, before he shifted his eyes back towards the military helping the people clean. She stared at him for a while after he had adverted his gaze, taking in the child-like shape of his face, the innocence of his eyes, how young and breakable he seemed, and then tried to reconcile that image with the one of the young man who had saved her by somehow throwing up a shield the likes of which she had never seen. It seemed so unlikely that this skinny little kid could have that kind of power. "Back then... that shield. How did you do that?" she asked.

The brown eyes lowered to the ground and he curled slightly into himself. "I don't know." he whispered, his voice meek and hesitant. "I don't think I'd be able to do it again."

Summer felt something in her melt at his gentle hesitance, at the purity of his gaze. "Hey, it's alright." She assured, tightening her hold on his shoulders. "It's going to be alright." He looked up at her, fear in his eyes. "But what if it's not?" he asked.

Before she could say anything to reassure him, Scott called her over. She hesitated briefly, looking down at the young man resting beside her. He smiled sadly and waved her off, understanding written across his face. She offered him a kind smile of her own, leaning down to press a gentle kiss in his messy hair. "Take care of yourself Ziggy." She whispered.

Standing straight, she walked over to her teammates. Both men were eyeing Ziggy curiously, obviously interested. "That the boy that saved you?" Flynn asked, his accent as light and carefree as it always was at the end of a successful battle. She nodded, glancing over her shoulder at him. Ziggy's head was bowed and he was fiddling with his fingers, tension and fear evident in the hunch of his shoulders and the arch of his back.

"He looks like a twig." Scott said. Summer sighed at the words but found herself unable to deny them. Ziggy was almost scarily thin for his age. "He's scared Scott. I don't think he knows what happened anymore than we do."

The Red Ranger was silent for a moment, still staring at the oblivious kid. Then he said, "Let's take him back to the Garage. Have the Doc figure it out." She thought about it for a moment before agreeing and walking back over to what was quickly becoming her new best friend. "Hey Ziggy."

"I'm coming with you, huh?" he asked, his expression resigned. She smiled softly and nodded. "Yeah, Zig, you're coming with us."

---

Four hours later and Ziggy was sitting in their kitchen, nervously fiddling with the end of his sleeve. Their Doctor K had been far from accommodating and had had the Rangers poke and probe him in an effort to find out what and how he had done what he had done. If Ziggy was honest, a good part of him didn't want to know.

The Blue Ranger- Flynn, he thought- walked in slowly, staring at him. Summer had been nice and friendly but the other two were wary of him, unsure if Summer and him had lost it or if he really did have some sort of immense power locked away inside him. "'Lo Ziggy." He greeted awkwardly, his accent thick with tension.

He offered the man a small smile, a big difference compared to his normal wide, energetic grin. Flynn sat down across from him, trying to return his weak smile. "How are you feelin' lad?" he asked, his eyes freckled with concern.

"I've been better." He replied honestly. "But I've been worse." He turned his head to look in the direction of the lab. "How are things...?"

Flynn followed his gaze. "Tense." he said. "Very tense. Doctor K doesn' want to believe you can do what Summer says you can do, Scott wants to side with the Doc, an' Summer wants to believe in you."

"I see." he whispered. He looked back up at the Blue Ranger, noticing for the first time the cut on his brow. It was caked with dried blood but it didn't seem to be serious. "You're hurt."

Flynn turned his head to look back at the boy Summer seemed so enamored with. He could understand why. He was young and fragile-looking, with wild brown hair and wide brown eyes and an easy smile. He was sweet and innocent and something about him made Flynn's more protective instincts rise to the surface. He raised a hand to brush against the cut on his forehead. "It's nothin'. Doesn't even need a bandage."

Ziggy just stared at him, his expression open and his eyes filled with kind concern. He reached across the counter towards him and Flynn obediently ducked his head so Ziggy could run his fingers over the cut. The younger man's skin was smooth and warm, his touch gentle around the cut. Before Flynn could say anything about the nice concern he flattened his palm out over the wound. Warmth surrounded the cut, pleasant and gentle, and ghosted out across Flynn's skin like rose petals. He was tempted to jerk away from the calming touch of Ziggy's hand but the warmth felt really... nice...

The younger man pulled away suddenly and Flynn caught a glance at his hand as he did so, noticing the fading white-gold glow with shock. Ziggy blinked down at his hand for a moment before looking up at him, surprise playing across his face. Somehow already knowing what had happened, Flynn reached up, brushing his fingers over the smooth skin where the wound had once been. "That, lad, was amazin'." He said, meeting the warm brown eyes. "How did you do that?"

Ziggy was already shaking his head. "I don't know. I just... I just can."

Flynn stood quickly. "Well come on. We've got to tell the others." he said. Ziggy followed his orders in shock, standing slowly while still staring at his hand. He walked about two steps before stumbling, having to grab the counter to support himself. Flynn was immediately at his side, supporting him until he regained his balance. "You okay, lad?" he asked.

The younger man nodded slowly and Flynn suddenly noticed how his eyes were sliding to half-mast, rings forming around them. Gently, he guided Ziggy back to his chair and told him to wait there before he turned and walked quickly to the lab. Summer and Scott looked like they were caught in a fierce argument with each other but their heads were bowed and their voices were lowered. He didn't even bother to stop to hear what they were talking about. "I believe ye, Summer." he said, interrupting them.

They both stopped and turned to look at him. Scott looked bewildered at his change of heart but Summer looked relieved at his sudden support. Flynn glanced over his shoulder as he moved to join them, towards where Ziggy was resting, and touched a gentle hand to his forehead. "He can do things Scott." he whispered. "These weird, amazing things."

Scott shifted uncomfortably. He really wanted to believe his teammates, some of the best friends he'd ever had, but everything in him said that what they were telling him wasn't possible. Doctor K hadn't found any strange energy readings from him either. Scott glanced back to the rest of the building where the young man would be waiting, thinking about him. Thin, pale, with wild brown hair and wide, slightly elfish brown eyes. Innocent, a little clumsy, somewhat skittish but with a charming smile. And an air that made one want to protect him.

He was broken from his thoughts by the sound of shuffling footsteps. Looking up, he noticed that Ziggy was slowly entering the lab, dragging his feet and looking like it was a struggle to keep his eyes open. There were bags forming under his eyes and his skin seemed even paler than before, making him look tired and slightly ill. "Um guys?" Ziggy breathed into the suddenly silent room, looking nervous with all the eyes on him. "Is there somewhere I can lay down? I'm feeling really tired."

"Aye, lad. This way." Flynn said, walking forward. Ziggy smiled weakly and stepped further in to meet him. But before he could get far, his eyes slid closed and his knees buckled. Both Flynn and Summer jerked, reaching for him. But Scott was faster, having been inching forward towards him once he realized Ziggy was practically asleep on his feet, fearing such an event. He grabbed him under the arms, slowly setting him down to the ground. He frowned at the young man's sleeping face and, after determining that nothing was wrong with him besides severe exhaustion, leaned back. "Summer?"

Ranger Yellow looked down at him with knowing eyes. "One week." he told her. "I'll give you two one week to figure out how he can do what he can do. After that, well, that's up to you."

He glanced down at Ziggy and sighed. Somehow, he already knew what he was going to hear at the end of the week. "Welcome to the team, Ziggy Grover."

----

**Roughly One Year Later**

Music. For a long second, all he could hear was music. The soft lullaby wrapped around him, slowly dragging him from the present to a past he had long forgotten. For a long second, he forgot the sand, and the Wastes, and the total devastation that lay around him.

And then a soft, musical voice called to him. "_It's a beautiful song_."

He spun around, looking in all directions. There was no one there. Nothing around him to even make a noise besides his watch. He frowned, giving the area around him one more glance before turning back to the map spread in front of him, deciding it was nothing. But before he could even begin to plan where to go next, the voice came back, whispering across his ears. "_Corinth is west. Go to Corinth."_

Growling again, he looked around only to confirm the same thing as last time. He was the only person, living or otherwise, around for miles. "Who are you?" he demanded. "And where are you?"

"_You'll see if you go to Corinth. I can guide you there._"

"I don't need the help of a creepy voice in my head." he hissed. He spun back around, quickly gathering his things together and heading back for his car. He was not going to do something just because some voice asked him to. No way in hell.

"_Please. I don't have much time. Go to Corinth."_ The voice was weaker than before, starting to fade slightly, and for the first time he picked up the exhaustion in it. And the voice was male. He ground his teeth together, trying to block it out. But it was still there.

_"Aren't you tired of running?"_

And then, it was gone. He could feel it disappear, like it had been an actual physical presence next to him. He frowned, glancing around one more time before climbing into his car. Corinth, to the west. And a mysterious voice waiting for him there. Either that, or he had finally gone completely insane.

----

It wasn't long before it came back though. He had been driving for about two hours when he somehow just knew it was back. "What?" he snapped in irritation. "_You're close."_ The voice was an excited, breathless whisper, almost as if whoever was making it couldn't believe he had listened. There was a moment of silence in which the voice didn't say anything but was just _there_, before it suddenly shouted out, "_Stop!_"

He slammed on the brakes reflexively, growling as he came to a stop. Before he could say anything, the voice whispered, low and excited, "_To your left, Corinth city._"

He turned his head to stare at across the fields of sand to the domed city. A shining, isolated city on a ragged hill. Wonderful. He glanced down at the fuel gage. Not enough to shut off and wait for the sun to set. He had to go now. He gunned the engine, quickly taking off towards the dome.

Almost immediately there were protests. "_No one has ever run the Venjix Barricade in broad daylight and survived!"_

"Well, I'm about as close to no one as you're ever going to meet." he said, a slow smirk crossing his lips. He turned his head when he heard followers, his smirk growing.

----

Scott, Flynn, and Summer ran into the lab as the sirens rang around them. "Doc, what's going on?" Scott asked, staring at the young woman who had just recently revealed herself to them. Her dark blue eyes met his own before returning to the screen in front of her. "City sensors are detecting a vehicle approaching the Venjix Barricade."

"Any humans in there?"

"Sensors read... half a human." Doctor K told them, blinking in puzzlement. The three Rangers shared looks then looked back at her. "What do we do?"

She looked at them then glanced up at the ceiling and heaved a sigh. "It's your decision Ranger Red. You're team leader."

Scott glanced around at his teammates, both of which were waiting for him to make up his mind. He glanced up at the ceiling as well, really wishing Ziggy was awake. This was more his situation that his. "Lower the shield." he ordered. And hope we don't regret it, he finished in his mind. He turned to his team. "Let's go!"

They nodded, hurriedly following him. They all glanced towards the single closed door on the top floor. "Finish whatever you're doing soon, Zig." Scott whispered. "We'll need your help soon"

----

Dark brown eyes slowly slid open and a small, gentle smile brightened the pale face. The young man raised his eyes towards the sky and the single window in the room. "He's here." he whispered, his tone light with joy. His eyes slid closed again and he pitched forward, falling to the ground. Maybe he'd rest a little before they met. Just for a little while...

Then, then he'd meet the unnamed stranger he'd guided here. He couldn't wait.

----

**The Next Day**

Dillon, as he chosen to call himself, glared at the bars that surrounded him in annoyance. Why hadn't he just busted out of here all ready? He'd put up with the city's Colonel Truman interrogating him and the Yellow Ranger he'd saved questioning him about what he wanted to do. He wanted to get out of here. But something kept him here for just a little while longer, the only reason he hadn't fought his way out when the guards escorted him to the room where they'd questioned him again.

He was waiting for the source of voice to appear.

He closed his eyes, crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. There was silence, a discomforting silence because a part of him was still waiting for the voice to come back.

"It was a beautiful song."

He jerked upright at the voice and looked around. This time he found the person it belonged to. A young man, younger than him, was standing in the doorway, staring at him with kind, gentle eyes. His hair was curly, a wild dark brown mess and it stood out brightly where it whispered across his pale cheeks and neck. There was a gentle, harmless smile on his face. The first thing he noticed about him was that he was slight, pale, and unlike everyone else that had talked to him, was not a fighter. The second thing was that despite childishness of his face and the innocence of his eyes, those same eyes were also old, older than they should be, and they possessed an almost ancient kind of knowledge. And the third thing was that he got the strange urge to protect him from harm.

He apparently wasn't the only one with that urge because the two male Rangers were waiting just behind him, watching him with cautious, wary eyes.

The young man walked forward with that same harmless smile and slid into the seat across from him. "You're Dillon, right?" he asked. His voice was soft and musical, a very pleasant sound that ghosted past his ears and teased his senses. And he recognized it. It was the voice that had led him here.

He hadn't thought it would be from this little kid who was barely an adult.

The young man stared at him, his gaze undemanding but still somehow unsettling. He was obviously waiting for an answer but Dillon didn't plan to give him one. He was done with corroborating. The soft brown eyes staring at him lit up in amusement suddenly and his smile got warmer. "I'm Ziggy." he whispered. "Ziggy Grover. I am a member of Team Ranger although I am not actually a Ranger myself." He tilted his head to the side, his mirth growing. "I am… support, I guess."

"So?" He asked, trying to hide his surprise at the fact that this slight boy before him worked with the two bulky, muscular men behind him. Both of which was staring at him.

Ziggy's smile didn't fade in the slightest at his question. "I have gifts Dillon. I'm sure you realized that I'm the one who guided you here." He told him. The two men behind him jerked in surprise and looked at Ziggy wide-eyed. They obviously hadn't known that.

Ziggy ignored them both as he continued, "I guided you here because we need your help. Venjix is getting stronger, getting smarter and we'll only be able to hold him back for a while later. We need another Ranger but no one in this city can handle the power of the suits."

"And you want me to be your new Ranger?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Ziggy's amusement died away, leaving him looking at least ten years older. Dark circles formed under his eyes, his skin paled, and his eyes darkened. He looked both serious and exhausted, like he never got enough sleep. Ziggy reached forward, laying his hands down on Dillon's.

Dillon tensed slightly, meeting those dark brown eyes. "We need your help, Dillon. Please."

And staring into those dark, pleading eyes, he really didn't know how to say no.


	2. Chapter 2

Hymn to Fayth

Chapter 2

In the end, Dillon didn't get out of jail to learn more about the Power Rangers till the next day. When he did, Ziggy and the Yellow Ranger Summer were waiting for him. Although he had seen them both before, something bugged him as off. He narrowed his eyes in thought as he approached them. For some reason, Ziggy looked paler than before, almost sickly even, and he seemed even smaller than normal. But his gaze was still warm and welcoming and his smile still soft and faintly excited. Despite the fact that Ziggy had said he'd guided him here to be their new Ranger, Dillon got the feeling that the young man didn't even care about the fancy suits and technology.

He stopped before them, finding his eyes riveted to the young man that had consumed his thoughts while he waited. Ziggy was a few inches shorter than him and very skinny compared to his bulk. He had a young face and innocent smile but his eyes told a different story when said smile dropped away. They were old, impossibly old, and help a frightening amount of both knowledge and power. They almost seemed to say that he had the world resting on his thin shoulders.

The lithe build of his body, the darkness of his eyes, made him seem too young and too fragile. He unconsciously seemed to put out on air that made one want to protect him.

Ziggy looked up at him, his smile growing. "Good morning Dillon." he greeted, his tone light. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah sure." He said, glancing at the woman next to them for the first time. She met his gaze and smiled encouragingly, her eyes betraying her amusement as if she knew something he didn't, and guided them out.

It took them only a few minutes to reach their base. The Red Ranger was waiting for them outside, scanning them carefully as they approached. Dillon wondered which one he didn't like him around, Ziggy or Summer. But whatever Scott saw set him at ease because when they stopped in front of him, there was a peaceful look in his eyes and he smiled briefly at his teammates before opening the large doors for them.

The area was wide and spacious, with what could pass as a living room off to his left and a kitchen in the back. The main area was filled with cars and equipment and a set of stairs lead to catwalk and a series of doors to his immediate right. As they entered the Blue Ranger rolled out from under the Hummer, a socket wrench in his hands and a cautious but welcoming smile on his face.

"Welcome Dillon," Ziggy breathed next to him. "To our home. We call it the Garage."

He glanced around, hearing Flynn say next to him, "See if you can guess why." Slowly, he approached the bright red and black sports car, examining it with his eyes.

"Nice, huh?" Scott asked him, a small smile of pride on his lips. Dillon glanced over at him, cocking an eyebrow. The car was nice and could probably take on his own car, but he wasn't going to say that. "Nice toy."

He walked away, ignoring the angry expression on Red's face. Ziggy was leaning against a counter as a screen behind him flickered with images of Ranger tech, obviously content to let him finish his examination of the Garage. Dillon approached him slowly, watching the images shifting across the screen on the wall. "Who made all of this?" he asked.

"Doctor K did." Ziggy replied. "She's a little shy. I was here for five months before she showed herself to me. The Rangers were here two months before me and they didn't know what she looked like."

"She doesn't like the attention." Scott defended. Ziggy rolled his eyes, a smile of amusement on his lips. "You thought she was a guy!" he complained, his tone fond, amused, and just slightly exasperated. The young man turned back to Dillon, his smile widening. "Come on." He whispered, picking up his hand in both of his. His hands were soft and warm but surprisingly calloused. "I'll show you."

Dillon let Ziggy guide him through the Garage to where a door slid open for them, premitting them enterance to one hell of a lab. He looked around briefly, not really interested in the darkened cases containing five brightly colored spandax suits. He turned his head away from them, intending to question Ziggy again, then stopped. A very, very young woman was standing in front of a computer desk, regarding him with cool, impassionate blue eyes framed by short cut black hair. She was wearing a black school uniform and white lab coat. She caught his gaze and nodded slightly.

"Dillon," Ziggy whispered, stepping up next to him. "Meet Doctor K." He paused and glanced at the young woman. "Say hi, Doc."

"Hi." She replied dutifully.

Dillon looked down at Ziggy. "That's... Doctor K?" he asked, just to be sure. Ziggy looked up at him and nodded, his eyes bright. "That's her." he agreed. Dillon slowly turned his head to look back at the young woman. A girl really. She couldn't be any older than 19, at best. "You have got to be kidding me."

An indignant expression slid across her face and she frowned tightly. "No, I am not _kidding_ you. I built the suits and the equipment the Rangers use today three years ago, before Venjix." She stepped away from her computers, closer to him. Dillon listened to her next words with half an ear, most of her explanation going over his head anyway. He glanced down at Ziggy next to him and smirked slightly. His eyes had glazed over and there was a blank expression on his face.

He looked back at the Doctor then turned to look at the Ranger suits. The small movement jerked Ziggy from his daze but Dillon ignored him in favor of mentioning, "Because nothing says covert like bright Red, Blue, and Yellow spandex."

The Doc looked very suddenly angry. "That is NOT spandex." She snapped, her voice heated. Dillon resisted the urge to roll back on his heels in the face of her anger and made a mental note never to mention spandex again. But Ziggy was giggling softly off to his left so he decided it wasn't a complete loss. Yet the Doc was still glaring daggers at him. "The material is a self-assembling nano fiber formed with an inter-cellular memory alloy."

"My mistake. Now, is that machine washable or strictly dry-clean only?" He asked sarcastically, enjoying the laughter that escaped from Ziggy even though he was obviously trying to hold it back. The boy looked up and met K's stern glare. He pressed his lips together in an effort not to laugh anymore. "Sorry." he whispered sheepishly.

He turned to look at Dillon. "You've seen what the Rangers can do Dillon. You know their power." He whispered, his eyes begging, pleading with him to just say yes. Dillon stared at the younger man for a long moment. It was obvious Ziggy trusted him to do this and Dillon wasn't sure what he'd done to get that trust but he knew he didn't deserve it. He didn't want to make the hope in those wide brown eyes disappear but he couldn't let them trust him. Someone had trusted him once and now he didn't even know who that person was.

"It's all very impressive." He said, forcing himself to look into Ziggy's eyes. "But I don't belong here. I'm not cut out to be your black power dude."

He ignored K's correction, watching as Ziggy's eyes darkened at his answer. His shoulders slumped and he bowed his head, sighing heavily. Dillon resisted the urge to wince at the sudden, desolate image he created.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Scott said, walking forward to clap his hand down on Ziggy's shoulder. "This guy probably won't even make it through basic testing anyways."

Dillon arched an eyebrow and turned to look at the team as they slowly walked out of the room. "What testing?"

----

Ziggy watched as the Rangers reviewed the information taken from Dillon's tests, resting cross-legged on top of the counter, a white jacket thrown over his shoulders and a cup of water in his hands. Dillon's scores flew across the screen at a rapid past, almost too fast for his tired eyes to track. At top form he knew he'd have no trouble reading all of it but he could feel a cloud of wariness slowly descending over his head, making his head feel heavy. But he couldn't sleep, not just yet.

"I don't care!" Scott shouted suddenly, nearly cutting off the end of the Doctor's sentence. "I just don't care." He turned towards his team. "I don't trust this guy."

Ziggy looked up at him, his eyes determined. "But I do." He whispered, getting their attention. "He's not a bad person Scott."

From anyone else, the comment would be written off. But not from Ziggy. Ziggy had been around all of them long enough for them to know and understand that he could see a person's heart. When Ziggy said things like that, even Doctor K listened.

There was an unmentioned, and sometimes extremely complicated, dynamic to both the team and Scott and Ziggy's commands. Scott was in charge. But Ziggy was their wild card. The one person whose powers were still unknown, even after the many months and all the training he'd gone through since their awakening. And when Ziggy said he knew something, they had to trust him.

Scott was in charge but Ziggy had the power and if they ever choose to fight, neither Flynn or Summer was sure which one they'd side with.

A slow, 'pleased with myself' smile slowly wormed across Ziggy's face, setting Scott on edge. "Besides." Ziggy said, a note of smugness in his tone as he unwound his legs and dropped smoothly to the ground in one elegant move. "It's not like you have a lot of other candidates."

With that said, Ziggy turned and entered the lab to see Dillon staring at the Ranger Series Black suit with a thoughtful look. He paused, tilting his head to the side as he examined him. Dillon was tall and muscular, with a sharp jaw and strong features. His dark brown hair was down in a fly-away style and his brown eyes had a steely determination to them, although Ziggy wasn't sure that determination was actually aimed at something. His clothes were were slightly baggy and a little torn and dusty from his time in the Wasteland but other than that, Ziggy decided he was very handsome.

When he had first... _seen_ Dillon, for lack of a better word, he hadn't known what to think. It was obvious his powers were trying to tell him something but, like usual, he had no idea what. Dillon was a little... rough around the edges at first glance, a bit crass and unrefined. But something in him made Ziggy believe that Dillon was a good person.

The more he had seen of Dillon, the more he had needed to have him here, in Corinth. He hadn't actually believed Dillon would listen to him when he tried to guide him here but he had and that fact had made him so happy. He was really surprised by just how immensely glad he was that Dillon had. And when he'd really seen him for the first time, with his own two eyes, he hadn't wanted to let the man go. The urge had appeared so suddenly that he hadn't had the time to say anything and before he actually knew what he was doing, he had extended an invitation to the man to be Ranger Operator Series Black. And he hadn't cared, just as long as Dillon was there, right in front of him.

Scott had once told him that he made people want to protect him. Never before he had so hoped he was right. Because Dillon put out the air of a protector and he had never felt safer than standing beside him.

"Would it really be that bad?" he asked Dillon, watching as the man turned to look at him. "Joining us, I mean."

Dillon gazed at him for a long moment then sighed, shrugging one shoulder. "I don't know."

Ziggy pressed his lips together, tilting his head to the side in thought, then smiled brightly. "Come on." he whispered. "Lets go for a walk."

Dillon glanced over at him again, arching an eyebrow. Finally he decided the younger man was being serious and slowly followed him out of the lab and through the Garage. They were almost out when Scott appeared, calling them to a stop before the Garage's massive front doors. "Where are you two going?" The Red Ranger demanded, holding his hands out to the sides in question as the other two Rangers appeared behind them.

Ziggy smiled softly as he answered, "We're going for a walk." The other Rangers looked for a moment like they were going to join them but Ziggy waved them back. "No, stay here." he said, almost an order as he pointed at the ground. "Train, defend the city." He spread his arms wide as if to indicate the rest of the dome then gave the three two thumbs up, turning to walk out. "Save the world." He added as an afterthought barely a second later, a wide, pleased smile on his face.

----

Dillon let Ziggy guide him to the far edges of the dome to where the city's giant lake rested. "Everything here is recycled." Ziggy told him. "Nothing goes to waste. Everything's timed and scheduled, even the weather." He paused and gave the fake sky a strange look Dillon couldn't identify. "They meant for it to last forever, you know." he whispered wistfully. There was a strange note of sadness in his voice. "A permanent, perfect, self-reliant...bird cage."

He looked away form Ziggy, gazing at the families resting on the grass in contentment. "I know what you're trying to do." He interrupted, trying to ignore the look on Ziggy's face. And failing. "You're trying to make me care."

Ziggy stopped walking and looked up at him with open, sincere eyes. "I don't need to do that Dillon." He said. "You already care. You're not a cold-hearted person. You're just... a little lost, just a little confused. But you're a good person."

Dillon looked down at him, surprised by the faith written plainly across his face for all the world to see. He really believed what he was saying. He actually trusted him. "Don't." he told him. "Don't trust me. Someone trusted me once and..." He trailed off, unable to complete the sentence. He didn't know what had happened to that person.

"And you're still looking for them." Ziggy breathed. "Even after all this time, you're still looking. You don't know for what or for who but you're looking. Maybe we need someone like that here."

He didn't answer immediately and Ziggy's hand fell from his arm. "In the end Dillon, it doesn't matter what you choose." He told him, turning away to look out across the water. "You can stay or you can go. We won't stop you. But we don't have the option. You can take off right now and we will still have to protect this city. We will still have to fight in the morning, rather you are with us or not. But it would be easier if you were there."

Dillon stared at the young man in surprise. "Are you trying to guilt trip me?" he asked, not expecting the tactic. Ziggy turned his head to look at him with a wide, unabashed grin. "Is it working?" he asked, answering his question with another question. Dillon gazed at Ziggy for a long moment. It would be so easy to bruise him, so easy to break him. Too easy, he decided, the thought sending a jolt of pain through his heart.

"Maybe." He answered. He looked away. "But I can't. I have..."

"Someone waiting for you." Ziggy finished for him. "But do you even know who that person is?" he asked quietly. He didn't let Dillon answer before he started again. "No one knows the extent of my powers Dillon, not even me. Everything I know, I know instinctively. And I know a lot of things Dillon. More than I should." His eyes dropped down and regained that too old, too sad look. "More than I want to." he added sadly. He shook off whatever he was thinking and looked back at Dillon. "But stay Dillon, and I swear to you I will do everything in my power to help you remember your past. I will help you find who you're looking for."

Ziggy quieted after that, leaving his offer out in the silence between them for Dillon to war with. The older man didn't know what to decide. To stay, to help the Rangers, to help Ziggy, or to leave and keep searching for a past he didn't even remember and a person who could very well be dead by now.

It started to rain.

Both of them ignored the cold water as it pounded down on them, sinking through their clothes and hair, creating a dull roar around them. The silence continued to stretch between them but neither seemed obliged to break it. Ziggy even seemed content to let him war it out with himself.

Finally Dillon broke their staring, turning his head to gaze at the families scrambling for cover. Two little kids, no older than seven were fighting for an umbrella. What about them? A little voice inside of him asked. Who's going to protect them?

Was this why Ziggy was fighting? To protect this? This innocence, this childish beauty? Was it worth protecting?

He looked back at the young man. Rain was dripping down the smooth, pale planes of his face and catching on his eyelashes but the boy didn't seem to notice at all. He simply stared at Dillon, patiently waiting. His brown hair was soaked through, even darker as it plastered itself to his cheeks and necks and his clothes were drenched, the white coat he was wearing almost seeming to glow due to the water. He created a stunning but desolate picture, one beautiful person standing by himself during a storm.

"Is it worth it?" he asked as the rain died away. Ziggy looked over at the children he'd been watching earlier and nodded. "It is." He whispered. He looked back at him, his eyes open and honest. Dillon thought that if he tried hard enough he could read all the secrets hidden in the dark brown depths, all the inner pains and fears, all the knowledge that weighed Ziggy down.

Then Ziggy faltered suddenly, a pained glimpse taking over his features as he wavered. His eyes slid closed and he tilted forward, his knees buckling under the sudden dead weight of his body. Dillon's eyes widened and he didn't even register he had moved till he was kneeling on the ground, his arms wrapped securely around Ziggy's waist, holding him steady as the younger man came back to himself, breathing heavily. "I'm sorry." Ziggy whispered. "I've over-worked myself again."

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking down at Ziggy as he pushed himself up and away from him. Ziggy nodded slowly, water dripping from his bangs. "Yes I'm fine. I'm just... tired." he whispered. Dillon noticed for the first time the dark circles forming under Ziggy's eyes and the sudden deathly paleness of his skin. And Ziggy was shaking.

Gently gripping Ziggy's upper arms, he pulled the younger man to his feet. "Let's get you back to the Garage."

----

Ziggy was practically asleep on his feet when they got back. Summer immediately appeared at the young man's side, worry in her eyes as she slowly guided the boy away from him towards the stairs, urging him to sleep. Ziggy's protests were half-hearted and his reassuring smile was waning as he slowly staggered up the stairs. The only reason he didn't fall was because of Summer's arm around his shoulder, supporting him.

"What's wrong with him?" he asked, unable to look away from Ziggy's tired, about to collapse form.

Scott and Flynn walked over to him, Scott wary but Flynn welcoming enough. "Ziggy's limits are erratic." Scott said. "They change daily. There are days where he's perfectly fine; where it seems he can use his powers forever and never get tired. And then there are days when he can barely get out of bed. His powers are draining, both mentally and physically. As much as they are a gift, they're a curse."

He looked over at them, noticing the sad, slightly hopeless looks in their eyes. Ziggy's situation obviously wasn't new yet they still couldn't do anything to help him. "You all keep saying that. His powers. What are they?" he asked.

This time it was Flynn that answered. "No one knows for sure. It's just somethin' he can do. We don't how or why. We just barely know enough to do little things ourselves. But that's only through months of study and practice. And its still no where near the amount of power Ziggy puts out naturally." He paused in thought than continued. "His strongest abilities are shieldin' and healin'. I can't even begin to remember all the times they've saved our hides. But he also has the unique ability to 'dream-see' as the Doc likes to call it. It's probably how he found you. We don't quite get it ourselves but Ziggy can fall into this really deep trance and literally throw his consciousness to another place and see what's happenin'. Sometimes, if he's not very careful, he can see the future. But the occurrences are rare and scattered. We try not to rely on it."

Dillon slowly absorbed the information, gazing at the door to the room Ziggy had entered. He didn't know if the people in this city, if those children in the rain, were worth fighting for everyday. But Ziggy, sweet, burdened, too-powerful and too-self-sacrificing Ziggy, was.

He looke back at the two male Rangers standing beside him. "Fine." he said. "I'll be your Black power dude."


	3. Chapter 3

Hymn to Fayth

Chapter 3

Dillon sat in the kitchen two days later, contemplating his decision. It was late, everyone was asleep, and it seemed to be the perfect time to think. He'd admit, it was... nice to not be moving all the time. And it was nice to not have to worry about Grinders- much- or if anything was going to attack him in his sleep. But it was still weird, taking orders from someone else, trusting other people for the most part. The Rangers and their Doctor K were strange people that somehow managed to work and live together on a daily basis.

Scott Truman was the Red Ranger. He was strict and took his position as team leader maybe to seriously but he to generally cared about his teammates. He had a few problems with his father and the two didn't always seem to see eye-to-eye.

Flynn McAllistair, the Blue Ranger and the team's mechanic. He was a nice, rather laid-back guy who spent his time fixing the cars and making smoothies. He had a strange accent and maybe tried to help too much but was mostly a good guy who had accepted him easily enough.

Summer Landsdown was the Yellow Ranger. She was kind and a surprisingly good fighter who didn't seem to have any problems trusting him. Dillon sometimes got the feeling that she wasn't always like this and, like he did with Flynn, he wondered how much of her acceptance of him was because of Ziggy.

Doctor K was a different story. She was too young and too smart and too impersonal for him to truly trust. She referred to the Rangers by their colors, not their names, and the only one she ever seemed to favor was Ziggy. If that was because she truly liked him or if she just truly liked his powers, he couldn't say.

And then there was Ziggy Grover. He was, despite his generally open, honest disposition, an enigma. Dillon had realized he didn't actually know much about Ziggy's time in Corinth or anything about his life before Venjix. And he had no idea what went on in his mind. But Ziggy was sweet and gentle and he had a beautiful smile. He was powerful, Dillon knew. He had yet to see a true demonstration of Ziggy's powers but all of the team, even the Doc praised his gifts. Yet they were not without their price. Ziggy was sick, often frail, and sometimes ready to drop at any given second; at the same time, he was bright and energetic and seemly determined to not let his powers affect the way he lived.

He was the heart of the team. He kept the mood light and the Rangers happy. He made sure everyone got along and he and Scott had some form of shared leadership going on that neither seemed to mind.

He was also the sole reason Dillon had agreed to be a Ranger. Dillon wasn't sure if Ziggy actually needed the protection of his presence but the younger man never complained, in fact he seemed to enjoy it. And making sure Ziggy was content seemed to be one of the Rangers' missions so he didn't say anything about it either.

He stood up, deciding for the moment that he had made the right choice and moved to go to his room. Half way up the stairs he paused, a nagging sense of wrongness building in the back of his mind. He turned, examining the Garage carefully. It only took him a once over to notice something amiss. The Garage's large double doors, normally closed during the night, were open and there was a figure, silhouetted by the moonlight, resting against one of the open doors and gazing out into the city. He jogged calmly back down the stairs and approached, unsurprised when Ziggy's wild brown hair and pure white jacket came into focus.

"Ziggy?" He asked, watching as the young man jumped slightly and spun around to look at him with wide eyes. Dillon frowned at him. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

A warm smile crossed Ziggy's face as he once again settled down against the door, a look of intense peace sweeping over his eyes. He hummed softly, tilting his head in order to look him in the eyes. "Couldn't sleep. What about you?"

"I don't sleep." He answered. Ziggy's smile widened slightly in his amusement and he turned around to gaze at the city again. The lunar light weaved itself through the younger man's hair like it was a physical thing and bleached what little tan his skin had, leaving his eyes looking like mere passing shadows across his face. "You should be in bed." Dillon continued. "I've been getting the impression that you need all the sleep you can get."

His efforts rewarded him with one of Ziggy's brilliant laughs, light and airy and free. Ziggy turned back to him, his eyes amused. "If I can't sleep, I can't sleep." He whispered, before patting the ground next to him in a welcome. Dillon paused for a moment then obediently sank down next to him.

There was a long moment of silence that Dillon actually enjoyed. Ziggy looked content and vaguely peaceful, humming a soft tune under his breath that Dillon didn't recognize. He leaned his head back against the door, breathing deeply. The air was cleaner than the Wastelands' and slightly chilled as it slipped into his lungs. He hadn't noticed before how cold it was due to the standard Ranger issue black leather jacket he'd taken to wearing like the others but his first thought was for Ziggy, relatively unprotected besides from his rather thin jacket.

He frowned slightly and placed his hand over the curve of Ziggy's fingers in concern. He ignored the startled look Ziggy gave him, concentrating on the strange mix of coolness and warmth that drifted off of his skin. Ziggy was cool from the weather but his body was warm from the magic that ran rampant through him. But the chill was worrying. "You're cold." he muttered, meeting Ziggy's curious stare.

The younger man smiled. "Really? I hadn't noticed." he whispered. They stared at each other for a moment, then Dillon pulled his hand away and, not moving his gaze, asked him, "Why me Zig? Why choose me?"

Ziggy just smiled his soft, calming smile that easily set someone at ease. Dillon wondered if it was part of his powers that allowed him to do so. "I don't know Dillon. I don't know." Ziggy told him, not unkindly, then stood up, hugging his jacket to himself. "I'm going to bed." he announced, already walking away.

"How do you know you choose right?" Dillon asked. Ziggy stopped and looked back at him. There was a strange look in his eyes, a sharp sense of knowing that was unsettling at best and scary at worst. "I trust you." Ziggy told him. "Only time will tell me if I'm trusting the right person." That said, Ziggy turned and walked to his room, leaving Dillon to wonder at the blind faith Ziggy showed him.

----

Scott looked confused. Dillon didn't think he liked the idea of the team leader being confused. Especially not when that look was directed towards Ziggy's closed bedroom, where Ziggy had effectively locked himself in and everyone else out. "What?" He asked the Red Ranger.

"Ziggy's back to his project." Scott muttered. "He was working on it before you arrived, quit when you did, and is now, apparently, starting again. Wish I could say I know what's he's doing, but I don't. He never says."

Dillon arched an eyebrow, glancing up to gaze at Ziggy's door. There was no light shining from beneath the door and he couldn't hear any movement so he wondered if Ziggy was actually asleep. He wondered what Ziggy was doing up there.

Scott clapped him on the shoulder suddenly. "Well, you take care of him." Scott ordered before starting to walk away, the other two Rangers joining him. Dillon watched them go in confusion. "Where are you three going?" he demanded.

"We've got a Green Ranger to find." Scott told him with a smirk, turning to slip into his car. In a matter of seconds, all three were gone. Dillon scowled at the now empty Garage before turning to walk away, giving one last glance to Ziggy's door.

----

Soft gold-silver light spun around the room in quick waves, not even casting a shadow. It whispered across pale skin and ghosted through wild brown hair and over closed eyes. It grew slowly brighter and brighter, banishing what little shadow covered the walls. After a moment, dark brown eyes slid over, glazed over and unfocused. Ziggy breathed out slowly and the light flashed brighter then settled as Ziggy toppled over.

----

Like always, the first thing he noticed was the dark. And then the cold. Then finally, he noticed the far away brilliance and just barely there heat, a beckoning warmth. He slid his eyes open slowly, gazing around. To his right, seeming almost to far away to bother, was a bright sphere of light and warmth. Everything else was black and cold and lifeless. He wasn't actually standing on anything, more or less just floating in the air. It was a scene he had grown used to and since his first time here, he had learned a lot.

He knew now that the darkness stretched forever, in every direction, the only source of light being from the sphere. He'd learned that it didn't matter how far he moved unless he was moving towards the sphere. And he knew to never to give into the pull of the warmth and light of the sphere.

He turned slowly and carefully guided his non-corporal but still very real body closer to the warmth, making sure to not get close enough that he'd get pulled in. The sphere was nothing more than an illusion, the warmth and light a lure, and the darkness the only safety in this strange whelm of reality. The darkness was a portal back to life and the sphere a portal to an eternal rest. Once he was as close as he was going to get, he closed his eyes and prayed.

----

Half an Hour Later

Ziggy slowly crept down the stairs, looking around the empty Garage in confusion. After a long moment, he turned and walked into Doctor K's lab. Sure enough, Dillon was standing there, listening as Doctor K explained the suit.

He smiled softly and leaned back against the doors that had closed behind him, watching the two interact. K was the one who distrusted Dillon the most. Doctor K unlike the Rangers, didn't have blind faith in his powers. Even after all this time, the Doc still couldn't figure out the source of his powers and because of that, she didn't trust them, despite the fact that she trusted him just fine. But there was nothing he could do about that except let her run her twice monthly tests and hope for the best.

He watched them for a few more moments before Dillon caught sight of him and waved briefly. The small action caught K's attention and she turned to look at him. "Ah, Ziggy. Good. I need you to deliver the Series Green morpher to the Rangers."

"They've found someone already?" he asked in surprise, straightening and walking over. She nodded, leaning down to pick up a small bag she'd placed next her desk. "A Miss Tenaya Sevenson has presented herself as a viable candidate to handle the power of Series Green. They merely need the morpher."

Ziggy smiled kindly, taking the bag from her and slinging it over his shoulder. "I'll be happy to." He told her. He turned around, nodded to Dillon, then cheerfully started to make his way out of the building. Dillon watched him go, then turned back to the Doc. "What were we doing?"he asked, making the young woman sigh in aggravation.

----

Ziggy calmly entered the building where the other Rangers were supposed to be, a soft smile on his face and a greeting on his lips. It died away when he rounded the corner, staring at the young woman standing alone in the building. Something... wasn't right. "Miss Tenaya?" He ventured. "Where are the Rangers?"

She smiled prettily at him, causing all of his danger senses to flare up in warning. Something was off, something about her was off. "They left. I don't know why." She told him. Ziggy tightened his hold on the bag, pulling it closer to his chest. Her eyes flickered down to the bag then back up to him, glinting with some unknown light. He caught a hint of red in her eyes.

Everything about her screamed wrong. He could feel the power in his body reacting, building until it buzzed under his skin, just waiting to be let out. It had only ever reacted like that in one other situation. When he was standing in front of a Venjix attack-bot.

"You're a robot." he muttered, his eyes widening in horror. Surprise flickered across her face and then she smiled nastily, the red of her dark brown shining through. "You're smart." she whispered. "I'll take the morpher."

He backed away from her slowly, shaking his head and maneuvering the bag behind him. It didn't matter though, because in seconds she was in front of him, reaching out to grab his arm. Even as her hand closed over his wrist, hard as steel, he brought his other hand up, power flying from his fingertips. A barrier formed in his palm and with a quick mental push it blasted outwards, slamming her away. The minute he was free, he turned and ran.

He ran out of the building, down the street, and through the city. He ran for a long time then stopped, leaning back against a wall and fumbling for his communicator with one hand. After nearly dropping it twice, he brought it up and clicked it on. "Problem." He whispered, all he could manage while trying to catch his breath. After a few seconds, Doctor K answered.

"Ziggy? What's happening?"

"She's a robot." he answered, leaning his head back against the wall and resisting the urge to just crumble to the ground. "Tenaya, she's a robot."

Dillon came on instead of K's, low and angry. "Ziggy, I'm on my way."

He had one brief moment for relief, one brief moment to think that he was going to be okay, then he heard it. A slow, haunting whistle drifted through the air, freezing his blood in his reins. "Dillon." he breathed, gulping tightly. "Hurry."

He dropped the communicator back into his pocket, turning to start running again. Before he could get very far, a hand clamped down on his shoulder, spun him around, and then another hand wrapped viciously around his throat. He choked, his hands dropping their things and coming up to grasp tightly at the hand slowly pulling him off the ground. He looked down to meet a darkened visor and noticed, in some distant, detached part of his mind, that Tenaya had changed clothes.

It was getting hard to breath. And he couldn't... really focus. He breathed out slowly, his lungs starting to burn. "Dillon...."


	4. Chapter 4

Hymn to Fayth

Chapter 4

It was only for a brief moment. For one brief, terrifying moment, he blacked out. Everything went dark and a wave of cold swept over him, the warmth falling faster and faster away from him. Then just as he neared that strange realm between life and death, he pushed himself back. Suddenly he could feel the sun- albeit fake- washing across his face, the heavy weight of the bag over his shoulder, and the crushing feel of Tenaya's hands around his throat. But he still couldn't muster the strength to shove her off, couldn't focus long enough to gather his power as he slowly suffocated.

Dillon wouldn't make it.

The thought washed across his mind and he tried to beat it back but he couldn't. Because it was true. He hadn't told them quick enough and The Garage was too far away. Dillon wouldn't make it, not before he had already slipped away, too close to that sphere of life for them to pull him back. He'd die.

There had to be something he could do. There _had_ to be.

There was one thing. His 'project', as Scott called it. It wasn't ready, he wasn't ready, no where near ready, but he was so close to that realm that maybe... just maybe he could make it work. But he had to focus. He took as deep a breath as he could manage then closed his eyes, trying to block out the world around him. It worked for a brief second before the burning of his lungs grew to great to ignore. But a second was all he needed.

His power flared, bright and alive, around them. He tried to focus, to shape it, and after a moment, it shifted and formed a summoning circle on the ground beneath him. All through it, the power ran like a wild fire through his veins, with all the same power and intensity and pure _heat_. He never heard Tenaya's surprised gasp beneath the blood pounding in his ears. He gathered the energy around him even as he tried to maintain the shape of the spell circle and threw all his energy into the summoning, quickly and hastily connecting to the death realm.

The air around them started to drop sharply in temperature despite the warmth of the magic and slow curls of light blue mists puffed out. Even Tenaya's breath frosted as she breathed out, her skin gaining goosebumps, and still the temperature dropped. Ice bloomed across the ground and the walls, making things slippery. Despite the power burning through his blood, Ziggy felt the bite of winter as it slid down his throat and cooled his lungs, barely numbing their ache. He could feel his lips drying and cracking as frost started to dust across his eyelashes and hair. A faint sheen of crystallized snow slipped across his skin. He let out one last shaky breath, throwing all his energy and hope into his single whisper. This had to work.

"Shiva."

The power flared greater, creating a light almost to bright to look at. For one brief moment, the connection held strong and the summoning seemed to work. Then it collapsed beneath the pressure of his body's physical demands.

He lost his grip on the energy and braced himself as well as he could against the backlash. Still, within seconds, the magic of the failed spell whipped around them without restraint, and the horrid taste of acid power pushed at his throat, and the backlash burned a fever through his body, and it was all too much. He blacked out again; he never witnessed the damage left behind or how the failure sealed his fate.

The power raced up Tenaya's arms, raced towards her. She let out a startled, angry curse and dropped the boy she'd been holding captive. But it didn't matter. The energy exploded outwards in one last, defiant act, then settled to low, sweeping tendrils. She was thrown back for the second time, hitting the ground and rolling. She looked angrily up at him, shaking off the residual energy that burned through her circuits and stood.

At the same time, the energy spun around Ziggy, healing the small cuts caused by his fall and the bruise that would have formed on his neck. It ghosted though his hair in a movement that could almost be called loving, then slipped past him and through the folds of his bag. It circled briefly around the morpher, as if in contemplation, then sunk into it. There was a flare of bright gold-white energy, followed immediately by a flash of emerald green. The two colors flared again, together this time, once, twice, then disappeared.

The morpher appeared wrapped securely around his wrist.

Tenaya approached him slowly, a scowl appearing on her face as she eyed the morpher. Before she could do anything, the roar of an engine pierced the relative quiet, making her turn her head. A black car was racing down the street towards her and she had to jump back or be run over. Her eyes narrowed on the figure that stepped out.

Dillon glared at the woman in front of him even though everything in him was telling him to find and protect Ziggy. Against his better survival instincts, he turned his head to gaze behind him. He caught sight of Ziggy laying unconscious on the ground and felt a wave of anger flowing through him. Ziggy's lips were turning blue despite the unnatural fever flush darkening his cheeks and something that looked like snow was dusted across his clothes. He could tell from the jagged rise and fall of his chest that Ziggy's breathing was too harsh. He snapped his eyes, bright with fury, back to the human-guised attack-bot. "What did you do to him?" he demanded heatedly.

She didn't answer immediately, staring over his shoulder at Ziggy then smirked at him, the only part of her expression he could see from beneath her visor. Then she attacked. He countered, surprised by the strength in her hits and the speed with which she danced around his own attacks. They traded blows, Tenaya's smirk growing. She caught his fist and pulled him closer to her. "You've had upgrades." she muttered.

Dillon glared at her. "Just who the hell are you supposed to be?" he growled. Her smirk widened, "Tenaya, Generation 7, Venjix human infiltration attack-bot. I am your thoughts and minds. I am mankind's unconscious being. I am the final evolution..."

He cut her off, twisting his grip on her arm and throwing her over his shoulder. "You talk too much." He snapped. She shrugged, pulling out a gun. "Doesn't matter. My mission is over."

He couldn't dodge the blast and winced as he fell to the ground. When he looked up, she was gone. He didn't hesitate to think about it, pushing himself to his feet and running over to check on Ziggy. He knelt down next to him, gently shaking his shoulders. "Ziggy? Ziggy, come on bud. Wake up." he muttered. He paused and placed the back of his hand against Ziggy's cheek. The temperature seemed to be in reverse of last night. His skin was burning up but the power flowing beneath it was freezing.

Ziggy still hadn't responded and he could feel the heat growing beneath his fingers but as it did so the blue tint to his lips started to vanish. He didn't know if that was a good thing or not. He shook him rougher. "Ziggy wake up!" he ordered sharply. Ziggy moaned softly, his eyelids fluttering. "Dil...lon?" The unsteady hold on wakefulness ended almost immediately but it was enough to reassure him. Feeling immensely more relieved, he leaned down and pulled Ziggy up into his arms, preceding to carry him to his car.

As gently as he could, he placed Ziggy in his car and secured him. As he did so, he noticed for the first time the morpher wrapped around his wrist. A steep sense of dread started to fill him and he clicked his own morpher on. "Hey, Doc. We might have a problem."

"I see it Series Black." She told him. "About 1.34 minutes before you arrived, Ziggy appears to have either lost control of his powers or been knocked unconscious during the shaping of a very strong spell. This caused a backlash of energy which seems to have bonded to the Series Green morpher, and in turn bonded with Ziggy. Ziggy Grover is now, unfortunately, our Ranger Series Green."

He dropped his head, groaning softly. "Shit."

"I agree."

He cut off the connection abruptly, looking back up at Ziggy. His color was returning to normal as his power settled and his breathing was even. That was good, he guessed. He straightened, walking around to get in. He glanced over at Ziggy. "Damn." he muttered as he started the engine.

He was halfway to the Garage where Ziggy woke up. "Dillon?"

Dillon glanced over at Ziggy. "You okay?" he asked.

The haziness was clearing from Ziggy's eyes as he slowly blinked. Then his eyes widened and he sat up straight. "The others are in trouble." he said urgently. Dillon gave him a strange look but before he could say anything, Doctor K's worried voice rang out from his morpher. "Series Black, the other Rangers need help battling Venjix's new attack bot."

He paused, glancing between Ziggy and his morpher. Ziggy turned his head and met his gaze calmly. "Drive Dillon." He ordered. One of his hands was running carefully, timidly, over the surface of the morpher.

"Ziggy..."

"Go. They need our help." Ziggy snapped. The two stared at each other for a long moment, Ziggy determined and unwavering, Dillon conflicted and apologetic. Finally, Dillon turned his gaze back to the road and spun them around towards the fight.

Ziggy had made his choice and he'd been working with the Rangers long enough to know what it meant. He wasn't going to run away and Dillon couldn't ask him too.

----

The fight was short. Ziggy knew it was short but it had felt so long. Too, too long. The power he was used to, _his_ power, was warm and gentle but mostly uncontrolled and unknown. But it was strong and bright and alive. The power of Series Green was... nice, comfortable, but it felt almost too much, like it was pressing against him and suffocating him. And he'd had enough of that feeling. It was too much, too fast, too.... enthusiastic, he guessed. It felt like the biggest caffeine rush he'd ever had and there was no way to make it end.

He collapsed to his hands and knees as the other Rangers defeated the giant monster, feeling Dillon right next to him. He couldn't hold the morph any more so he let it go, feeling the suit disappear around him. Most of the energy rush was gone but it wasn't enough because he could still feel it buzzing beneath his skin, just begging to be used again.

He was shaking. He couldn't make himself stop any better than he could stop himself from taking in the large gasping breathes that were making Dillon worry so much. He felt exhausted. Too many things had happened; the day had been too long. First the mediation to obtain the ability to summon, then the chase and subsequent strangling and failed summoning, followed by the morpher bonding and the battle. He just wanted to sleep.

"Ziggy?" Dillon asked softly as he kneeled down next to him. Ziggy was surprised to feel the older man's hand running softly over his back in comforting circles. "Just breathe, Zig. Breathe."

Ziggy obeyed, happily continuing to gulp in air. God, how had it gotten so out of control so quickly? He hadn't wanted to be a Ranger. He had been very happy playing the part he had in the team. He hadn't wanted it to change. He hadn't wanted this.

His breath caught briefly but his body's demand for air forced its way past his raising emotions. Ziggy tried to ignore the fact that the resulting sound was too close to a sob. He let himself to tumble to the side, into the safety of Dillon's strong, stable presence. Dillon started slightly in surprise but immediately supported him, holding him close. "Are you okay?" he asked. Ziggy didn't answer immediately trying to decide what to say. How did he explain how overwhelming the Ranger energy felt to someone who had only felt that energy? How did he explain how it felt like he'd just lost what little control of his life he had?

In the end, he didn't have to. The other Rangers arrived and he shut his eyes against their exclamations of surprise and disbelief as they realized the truth. He let himself just drift off......

---

Dillon realized Ziggy was too light as he slowly carried him up the stairs to the young man's room. Ziggy was cradled to his chest, his head resting against his shoulder. He looked too small in his arm and it felt like it would be so easy to snap him in half. He didn't like that feeling.

He carefully shifted his grip on the young man so he could free the hand tucked under his knees to open the door to his room. Ziggy mumbled something but didn't wake. Searching blindly, Dillon found the light-switch and flicked it on. Immediately, the room was washed completely in light and Dillon had to close his eyes against it. Ziggy's room was simple, almost Spartan-like, but it was done in warm colors and soothing patterns. It looked... peaceful.

Dillon moved forward into the room. The first thing he noticed upon crossing the doorway was the immense power gathered there. It felt like the entire room was buzzing with it. It was everywhere, in the air and walls and weaved into the carpet and fabrics. It was impossible not to notice it. If Ziggy's project could create this much power and still allow him to run around all day, just how much power did the young man have?

He shook his head slightly in an effort to ignore it, even though that felt practically impossible, and kept moving. Gently, he laid Ziggy out on the bed and pulled the blanket resting at the bottom of the bed over him. Ziggy mumbled to himself again, and turned on to his side. Dillon smiled slightly at him and moved to turn away. He paused when he felt something tug on his shirt and looked back at Ziggy. One of Ziggy's pale hands had somehow grabbed the tail end of his shirt and didn't seem to be willing to let go.

Another smile twitched at his lips and he gently pulled Ziggy's hand off of his shirt. He held it for a moment then tucked it under the blanket. "Good night Ziggy." he whispered before turning and walking out, shutting off the lights and softly closing the door.

He turned and jogged down the stairs, heading towards the lab. Almost immediately, he was met with yelling. Scott was pacing angrily, Flynn looked very confused, and Summer was standing next to Doctor K as the young woman typed quickly away at her computer. And Scott was yelling. "He can't be a Ranger!" he snapped in response to something Dillon hadn't heard. Dillon felt a wave of protective anger wash through him at the Red Ranger's harsh words.

But no one seemed to have realized he was there. "I have no problem with him being out there with us. You guys know that!" Scott continued. "But Ziggy can't be a Ranger. His powers are purely defensive and probably for a reason! He isn't meant to be a front-line fighter. He never was!" Scott trailed off then finally just sank to the ground, covering his face in his hands. "What do we do?"

"Nothing." Dillon told him, making the others look at him. "Ziggy is a Ranger now. Rather we like it or not. There is nothing we can do to change that." He glared at all of them, daring them silently to argue with him. "Ziggy is trying to be brave but he is scared. I know he is. So why don't you all show a little faith?" He requested. "You've trusted him this far. Trust him now."

There was a long, silent moment then Scott stood up and sighed. "Come on. Let's go to bed. Right now, we aren't going to be able to do anything right now." He muttered, walking out. The other two slowly shuffled out after him, tiredness and weariness in every line of their bodies. Dillon turned to follow them out when Doctor K called him back. "Series Black."

He turned back to her slowly, wanting nothing more than to just go to bed. It had been a long day and too much had happened. There had been too many up and downs, mostly downs, and he felt both mentally and physically exhausted. He was starting to think that this must be what it was like for Ziggy, wanting to just drop to the ground and go to sleep. He was gaining a new respect for the boy's strength of will. "What?"

"The power of the morpher will affect Ziggy's...." she trailed off briefly, a strange expression on her face. "Series Green's already unstable physical state. The energy of the Ranger suits is constant, even when you are not morphed. He will not have as many bad days as he did before. But when he does, they will be much worse than before."

He frowned, a feeling of unease settling in him. He had never seen one of Ziggy's low energy days but he heard about them. Days when Ziggy was so tired he could barely get up in the morning. How could that get worse? "Why tell me? Why not Scott?"

"It is true that Series Red is team leader and he should know. But..." she glanced at him. "As illogical as it is, it is you Zig- Series Green trusts." She stopped and gave him a stern look. "He does not believe that trust to be misplaced. As much as I do not like you, I do not wish him to be proven wrong. Series Green will have a much harder time adjusting to the power of the morpher than any of you due to his already present, naturally-generated, energy. The two energies will have to combine in order to be used effectively and until then, Series Green will not be in perfect form. He will need someone to protect him while his powers settle."

Dillon closed his eyes and nodded, not sure he fully understood what he was agreeing to when he said, "I'll protect him."


	5. Chapter 5

Hymn to Fayth

Chapter 5

The next few weeks were the hard. Ziggy seemed constantly drowsy, even after sleeping away half the day. He was tired, weak, and had sudden, unpredictable mood swings. He was lonely and wanted to be part of the team; he was irritable and wanted to be left alone. He was sick and tired and wanted to curl up in his room; he was energetic and wanted to play outside.

And he was constantly in pain. His own power and the energy of Series Green refused to combine and it created a never-ending ache. It was most obvious after a battle when he de-morphed. His power tried to regain a complete hold on his body and the Ranger Green energy refused to leave. The sheer agony it caused was nearly enough to make him scream but each time he'd grit his teeth and hold his breath, refusing to give into the pain that locked itself deep into his left arm, the arm with the morpher. He refused to worry the Rangers, especially Dillon, anymore than he already did.

He hated it.

What was worse was that now he didn't seem to be making anymore progress in summoning because whenever he tried to access the realm where his powers came from, the Ranger Green energy pulled him back. It was as if it sensed the aura of death given off by the sphere and refused to let him anywhere near it. It was beyond irritating because he was so close to earning the summons. He could feel it but he couldn't get close enough to establish a connection.

His eyes snapped back up as his power dispersed, once again over-ruled by the power of Ranger Green. If anyone had been with him and they had been looking, they would have seen his eyes flash briefly green. He ground his teeth together as he was once again failed to enter the dark realm. This time he couldn't hold in his anger and he stood up, grabbing his morpher from his wrist and throwing it at the wall. "Damn it!" he shouted.

He watched the device slam against the wall viciously then clatter to the floor. All he could think about was that if Doctor K had seen him do that she would be so pissed. He gave a soft laugh, which even he would admit sounded a bit hysterical, and collapsed to the floor again. He buried his hands in his hair and took deep, shaky breaths. It felt like he was losing it.

Before he could fall too deeply into the dark emotions spinning in the back of his mind, someone knocked on his door. "Ziggy?" Dillon's voice called through the thick wood, making him look up. "Are you okay? I heard something crash."

Dillon leaned against Ziggy's door, waiting for a reply. When nothing was forthcoming, he frowned and slowly opened the door, making sure he gave Ziggy time to notice his entering and tell him to stop. But Ziggy still didn't say anything. He walked in, closing the door behind him. Like the last time he had entered, the first thing he noticed was the immense, raw power pounding from every corner of the room. But it was different this time, twisted and bitter. He looked around, spotting Ziggy curled up on the floor. His hands were buried in his hair, messing up the already unruly strands even more. His brown eyes were wide and startled and Dillon was struck by how scared he looked.

He walked towards him, worry setting deep in his bones. He had protected Ziggy as well as he could out on the battle field but he was well aware that the one thing he couldn't protect him from was himself. "Are you okay?" he asked, kneeling down in front of him. Ziggy stared up at him, looking like he was struggling for words. Dillon glanced around, looking for the source of his distress and noticed Ziggy's morpher laying upside down on the floor next to the wall. Well, that explained the bang he'd heard.

He looked back at the younger boy and this time Ziggy reached out to him. Dillon blinked in surprise but let Ziggy wrap his arms around him and bury his head in his neck. He had learned day one that Ziggy needed physical contact to feel secure around another person. He sighed slightly and awkwardly draped an arm over Ziggy's shoulders carefully. They stayed like that for a long moment, Dillon trying not shift uncomfortably in the simple embrace, before he became aware that Ziggy was whispering something. He focused harder on the words pouring past Ziggy's pale lips.

"….wrap me in glistening wings and provide me protection. Anima, Chained Devil, Lady of pain, seal my heart and remove from me my agony. Asura, Grand Healer, Queen of the Eidolons, heal my scars and hurts. Shiva, Empress of Ice, weathered in frost, please make me as stone....."

He pulled back slightly to look down at the top of Ziggy's head. "Are you... praying?" he asked quietly. Ziggy paused in his speech, looking up at him with wide eyes that glistened with pain, tears, and a heart-wrenching fear. "I.. I guess I am."

He stared at the younger man then slowly pulling him back into his hold, despite the fact that he wasn't used to physical contact like Ziggy was. "You're going to be okay Ziggy. I swear you're going to be okay." He told him strongly. "I promise you that."

They stared like that for a long time and Ziggy was glad for it. Dillon's presence felt stable to his over-worked mind and sorely abused powers. It was like a soothing balm over the two drastically different energies and made them settle, if only for a moment. He sighed softly, suddenly feeling tired and lethargic. "Thank you." he whispered softly, letting himself drift off in the safe, secure circle of Dillon's arms.

--0--0--

The park was quiet and empty at this time of the night. Ziggy knew he should be at the Garage, sleeping in his own bed like the rest of the city but he couldn't bring himself to turn around and return home. The current silence of the park was what he needed at the moment. He needed to be alone.

He shrugged out of his Ranger issue black jacket and laid it over the misty grass so he could sit on it. Once that was done, he closed his eyes and calmed his breathing, pushing any worries and apprehensions out of his mind. He wasn't trying to return to that realm. No, he was going to a place he'd only gone one time before, when he'd first begun to learn about his powers. He was going to his '_Core_'. The place where his powers pooled inside his body, waiting for him to pull them forward. Major spells, such as the summoning, needed the vast strength that could only be gathered from the sphere. But smaller things, such as healing and shielding, merely required small amounts of power that his body had gathered and stored naturally.

The world around him started to blend together, twisting and turning and going out of focus. He ignored it easily, falling deeper and deeper inside himself. After a long moment, his senses filled with power and he refocused. The place he was in wasn't something one could actually see with their eyes. Despite this, Ziggy's powers and his well tuned senses created a vibrant image for him. He had no actual body in this place, he was nothing more than a mere consciousness, a gathering of thoughts and feelings. The place he was in was filled with white-gold power, rich and strong and powerful. But all over that power, almost like a net, were lines of bright emerald and forest green energy. Where ever the two powers touched, a blast of sickly dirt brown appeared. It was tainted and every time it happened, Ziggy felt a wave of disgust flow through him.

He watched the two powers slowly destroy each other, and by relation him, for a long moment, a deathly cold sliding down his spine. This had to stop, he thought strongly. It couldn't be allowed to continue any more. The two powers were poisoning him with their fighting.

He had them both for the same reason, to protect other people from Venjix. He held the immense power generated from the sphere and the abilities he had been working on would make him a Summoner. But now, he was also Ranger Operator Series Green. And there was nothing anyone could do about it. He was stuck like this but if he wanted to survive it, and make his powers merge, he was going to have to accept it. He was going to have to do more than just go through the motions as he had been.

He was a Ranger. It was his life now and he was ready to accept it and move on the same way he had when his powers had first emerged.

Slowly the blasts of dark brown became more infrequent and then finally, they stopped. As he waited, the power of Series Green lowered towards the white-gold then slowly the two meshed. Ziggy felt suddenly lighter, like a great weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. He sighed happily, the constant pain and tiredness he'd been experiencing this past week disappearing. He turned around and returned to the normal world before he could catch a cold.

He let out a soft sigh when the world returned to focus and stood up. As he did, his power fluctuated and for a brief second, he lost control. Almost immediately he was overcome by images.

_A young woman with dark eyes and an aura of power. A glowing sphere hovering before him. Power running like wildfire through his veins and a little voice telling him,'now or never'. Through it all, the soft, melodic tune of Dillon's watch._

_The sound cut off abruptly and being replaced by Dillon's worried, panicked voice. "Ziggy, please! Don't do this to me, Zig!"_

He gasped, collapsing to his knees and blinking rapidly in order to focus again. His mind was spinning from the images. It was his rarest ability, and the only one he couldn't force. The ability to see the future. It had happened all of five times but each time he'd known what it meant. This time, he was lost. There wasn't enough for him to know. Frowning pensively, Ziggy stood again, grabbed his jacket, and returned to the Garage. Even as he collapsed onto his bed, Dillon's words echoed in his mind.

--0--0--

The next day, he knew it was time for him to finish his training concerning the summoning. With that thought firmly in his mind, he locked himself in his room and, with increasing ease, fell towards the realm of darkness and the sphere of death. There he hung before the sphere, the by now familiar prayer to the summons pouring from his lips. Half-way through it on his fifth run, a soft, musical voice ghosted past his ears. _"Hello, Master Summoner."_

He looked up in surprise to see a young woman standing before him. Her skin had a faint blue tint to it and her very long hair was an ocean blue and twisted into braids with large golden hoops woven through it. Her eyes were the darkest shape of blue he'd ever seen and she eliminated an aura of power unlike anything he'd ever felt before. The air around her was chilled but she seemed not to notice it, even in her state of half-dress; a blue bikini-styled top and bottom with a small skirt covering her left leg. She was wearing a light blue cloak which hastened at her neck. Ziggy smiled when he saw her and muttered out a small greeting. "Hello Shiva." He whispered.

She was the only summon he'd met so far; the only one he currently had under his command. Not because the others didn't like him but because they liked him to much. Controlling to many summons at one time would be overwhelming if he wasn't ready. They would only offer their service if Shiva said he was ready to handle it.

The Ice Queen regarded him with cool, dispassionate blue eyes. Then a small smile crept over her features and she nodded slightly._ "You are ready, Master Ziggy." S_he whispered._ "I am glad you are finally at peace with yourself_."

There was a flare of bright light and Ziggy felt a pathway form in his mind, leading back to this sphere, leading back to the summons. He smiled brightly and gave Shiva a deep, thankful bow. He had done it. He had become a Summoner.

--0--0--

Dillon looked up when he heard Ziggy bounce down the stairs and smiled slightly. Ziggy had looked good this morning, more alive than he had the past week. More like the young, bright man he had first met. Ziggy skipped over to him, looking more and more like one big bundle of joy as he approached. Dillon shook his head and rolled his eyes, his smile of amusement not leaving his face. Ziggy brushed past him towards the kitchen, humming to himself.

Humming the song his watch played.

He blinked and looked back at the boy. Ziggy seemed oblivious, smiling softly as he picked up an apple from a bowl on the counter. Like he had the entire past week, Dillon's first impression was that he looked too small in the Ranger jacket, too fragile. But Dillon had learned Ziggy was anything but. Ziggy could take care of himself if he had too, he just preferred to have the others protect him. Dillon opened his mouth to ask what had made him so happy when the klaxons went off.

He groaned and straightened. Here they go again.

--0--0--

The first part of the battle was easy, almost ridiculously so. It took them barely ten minutes total to beat back the Grinders and Tenaya and then precede to destroy the monster. Dillon actually thought it was Venjix's worst attack-bot. But he'd been wrong, and he realized that the minute he entered the cockpit of his Zord. All of the attack-bot's strengths were aimed to defeating the Zords and then crushing them while they were weakened on the ground.

Dillon groaned as his Zord, currently combined with Ziggy's, was knocked to the ground and glanced at Ziggy in concern. His shoulders were moving rapidly in exertion, but Dillon couldn't see his expression due to his helmet. He gritted his teeth and tried to maneuver the MegaZord back to it's feet. He had no luck because the attack-bot seemed focused on them now that they had been knocked down. Even as the cockpit rocked painfully due to the attacks, Dillon picked up Doctor K's voice coming in over the com-link. "Rangers Black and Green, abandon the Zords now!"

They obeyed readily, both jumping from the giant machines just as a complete systems failure occurred. Despite their hurried leaving, they still caught the tail end of the following explosion. Dillon wasn't to worried about the Zords, having a near complete faith in the Doc's ability to fix them by the next attack. He was worried about his partner however. The explosion caused them to de-morph when they landed and while Dillon could handle the rough impact, he wasn't sure Ziggy could.

He leaned over, placing a hand on Ziggy's shoulder. "You okay?" he asked. Ziggy gave an absent nod, his eyes focused solely on the other Rangers fighting the attack-bot. As Dillon watched, Ziggy bit his lip then slowly pushed himself to his feet. He saw the younger man mouth something that looked faintly like 'now or never'. "Ziggy?" he asked unsurely.

Ziggy ignored him and walked forward a few steps, closer to the battle. Dillon's eyes widened and he hurriedly pushed himself to his feet, intending to drag him back. Before he could even get within arms reach, Ziggy held out his hand and waved him back. "I have a plan." He told him, even though that didn't make Dillon feel any better. But Dillon stepped back and let Ziggy do what he wanted because Ziggy had that look in his eyes, that all-knowing, extremely powerful look.

As he watched, Ziggy dropped one leg back and raised one arm to the sky, the other hand pointing down to the ground. Just as he began to wonder if Ziggy had finally lost it under the stress, a glowing circle of pure, raw power spread out on the ground beneath his feet, glowing brightly. Four bright blasts of power flew into the air and disappeared. After that happened, Ziggy straightened and raised his head to the sky, the circle beneath his feet disappearing. A question of 'what the hell' on his tongue, Dillon followed his gaze.

And froze when a huge, and he meant _huge_, bright red and purple bird flew down from the fake sky. It had a long white mane and a reptilian-like tail; it's beak was pale white and looked almost like metal. Four interlocked hoops hung from it's large, right wing. Dillon watched as it landed deftly and gracefully in front of Ziggy, who didn't show an ounce of fear despite the fact that it was at least twice his size.

It was scary, Dillon thought, but there was a strange kind of gentleness to it. He watched as it let Ziggy pet it briefly then took to the air, flying quickly but majestically towards the battling Zords. "Valefor." Ziggy whispered, almost to himself. Dillon found himself unable to say anything in response.

The thing Ziggy had called, Valefor, was making quick work of the attack-bot, leaving the three Rangers still morphed to gap at it in shock. Beams of red light gathered at Valefor's beak then burst out towards the attack-bot, causing explosions all along its body and if the bird twisted its wings a certain way, a large, destructive blast of wind slammed into the enemy machine.

The battle was over in minutes due to the summon. Dillon kept his eyes on it as it descended, even as the other Rangers ran over to them, pulling off their helmets. "What is going on?" Scott demanded. Dillon could only shrug.

The others tensed as Valefor landed in front of Ziggy. Then, much to their shock, it bowed to the young man. Ziggy smiled softly and reached out his hands to run them over the firm, bone-like planes of it's beak. Then Ziggy bowed his head to touch his forehead to Valefor's and whispered something they couldn't hear. Ziggy stayed like that as the large bird slowly disappeared into motes of bright light that drifted casually towards the sky.

There was a long moment of silence as Ziggy finally straightened and turned to look at them. Ziggy expression turned sheepish. "I can explain!" he said hurriedly. Scott nodded slightly. "Oh I sure hope so, Zig."

Ziggy blanched slightly and looked at Dillon for help but the older man merely raised an eyebrow. "Um, these past few weeks, I've been learning to summon these... beings with pretty awesome powers. Valefor is one of the lower ranking ones."

If that was the weaker one, Dillon thought, he didn't want to meet the upper-level ones. Seeing as the other Rangers were now gaping at Ziggy in shock and confusion, he met the young man's eyes and shrugged. "Cool." he muttered, making those incredulous gazes swing towards him. "Cool?" Scott demanded. "That's all you have to say? Cool?"

He looked back at Scott and shrugged again. "He has who knows how many extremely powerful things at his beck and call, and you want me to argue with him?" he asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow. "Besides, I have just one thing to say to all of this." he told them. He looked back at Ziggy to see him smiling widely despite the apprehension in his eyes. "That, Ziggy, was a giant-ass bird."

It made Ziggy laugh. And really, that was enough.


	6. Chapter 6

Hymn to Fayth

Chapter 6

The team fell into a sort of routine after that. Everyone got up around 8 in the morning- Scott, Flynn, and Summer exhausted and ready to fall asleep again; Dillon and Doctor K just slightly more awake; Ziggy up and bouncy, the only real morning person in the Garage- and cooked breakfast on a rotating routine so everyone had to do it. After that, they separated to do their own things- Scott ended up working on his car, Flynn on his inventions, Summer played pool or helped Doctor K who hung out in her lab everyday, and Dillon and Ziggy normally ended up training, with the nice result of several aching bruises but also with a big improvement in Ziggy's fighting style-. Around mid-day they were usually interrupted at least once a week by Venjix and Tenaya. The battles could range anywhere from ten minutes to a full bloody hour, but always left them tired and worn but victorious and proud. After that, they tried to take it easy before dinner and falling into bed just to do it again the next day.

But the team was getting stronger and closer. They were becoming a sort of family. It was most obvious with Dillon and Ziggy, who seemed to become more dependent on each other every day. It was obvious that it was Ziggy Dillon trusted the most to back him up, even though the boy was still the weakest member of the team, and that Ziggy felt safest when with Dillon. No one could yet pinpoint the bond forming between the two but it was there, a strong, stable presence between the two.

At least, that's how it had been.

Two weeks ago, Venjix had sent an attack-bot into the city that not only recognized Dillon but held his memories. And two weeks ago, he had been forced to destroy it. Ziggy had estimated that in a normal situation this would have caused two days of severe moodiness and then things would have gone back to normal. But it wasn't a normal situation. Because the bot had activated a virus in Dillon, a virus that was slowly eating away at his free-will.

Because of this, Dillon was distancing himself from the team.

It wasn't very obvious. But his eyes weren't as warm and his laughter, however rare it was, was hollow. He didn't hang out with the team as much as he had and it was getting increasingly harder to make him smile. And his once short temper, was now even shorter. Even Ziggy hadn't been spared his ire.

But Ziggy was more distressed by the sudden distance between them than the anger.

Dillon wasn't very comfortable with physical contact but he was always there, hovering nearby. There was always a hand on his shoulder, fingers across his back, even a careful ruffle of his already messy hair. The simple contact Dillon gave him was comforting, grounding him on his bad days. And now, it was gone.

Now, it felt like he was drowning.

----

When Ziggy woke up, the alarm was blaring. He groaned softly, wanting nothing more than to roll over and ignore it. The day had been rough, from Dillon's distancing to the Venjix attack, and he just wanted it to be over and done with already. But he couldn't just ignore it because his team needed him and he had to go and help them. He sighed and pushed himself up, carefully rubbing at the back of his neck to ease the pain starting to gather there. It took only a few minutes to change into proper clothes and jog down the stairs. Everyone but Dillon had beaten him down and he quickly joined them.

But even as he tried to focus on the words pouring out of Doctor K's mouth, he knew something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong. He turned away from the group, spreading his senses outwards. The first thing to hit him was the presence of the other Rangers and Doctor K. Then, further back, was Dillon- dark and rough, all sharp edges and shades of black, thumping with power and raw determination- inside Doctor K's lab. He couldn't figure out why Dillon would be back there though.

Then there was something that chilled his blood in his veins, leaving him numbingly cold. The presence of what felt like a Venjix attack-bot, but not exactly. He gulped thickly, turning in the direction of the lab. He vaguely registered the others asking what was wrong but he couldn't focus on them; all of his attention was on the presence of the Virus inside the building. His eyes widened with realization and something close to fear. "Dillon." he breathed.

He ran quickly into the room, hearing the others following him seconds later. He was ready for what he saw; the others were not and let out appropriate gasps of shock. Dillon was tearing through the computers of the lab and Ziggy could feel, at the very edge of his awareness, the shields failing.

"What the hell are you doing Dillon?" Scott demanded hotly, walking forward. Dillon turned towards them, his eyes flashing red. A shiver, full of trepidation and fear, raced down Ziggy's spine but he tried to ignore it. He wasn't going to be afraid of Dillon. He **refused** to be afraid of Dillon.

Dillon walked forward and easily smacked Scott to the side before starting on the other Rangers. Ziggy hunched his shoulders, frozen in place as his friends were thrown around like rag-dolls. Dillon approached him finally and he stared up at his friend. Finally, he forced his feet into movement and started to back up, holding his hands out to his sides. "You're not going to hurt me Dillon." He whispered, glad that his voice didn't shake when he said it. Dillon didn't respond, just continued to approach him.

Knowing he had no choice, Ziggy threw his hands forward and let his power explode outwards in a violent display. It _was_ more display than anything, his power imploding between them before it could hurt Dillon too seriously but the backlash still sent them both tumbling backwards. Ziggy looked over at his friend and gasped silently. Something thick and black was on the back of Dillon's neck. "His neck." He called to the Rangers starting to push themselves to their feet. "There's something on his neck!"

Summer stood and approached Dillon quickly but the man's attention had turned solely to Ziggy with the attack, the first one to make him retreat, and he merely shook the Yellow Ranger off. Ziggy gulped tightly, willed himself to not be afraid, and didn't back up when Dillon grabbed his upper arms in a tight grid. The hold was like iron and there would defiantly be bruises in the morning but Dillon came first, then the team, then the city, then, and only then, did he himself come in. "Please, Dillon." He pleaded. "Stop this."

Dillon shoved him back into the lab wall, knocking the air out of him as Summer ruthlessly kicked the device off the back of Dillon's neck. Dillon's eyes flashed red once more than slid shut and he crumbled to the ground. Ziggy let his knees buckle and he too slid down to the ground, staring at his friend. Dillon groaned and slowly opened his eyes, looking around. "What happened?" he asked.

Then Dillon looked over at Ziggy. Despite the younger man's best efforts, he knew how he looked: pale and shaken, eyes wide, wild with fear. Dillon stared at him for a long moment and Ziggy couldn't look away from him. Dillon had to realize by now that the thing Ziggy was afraid of... was him.

----

Ziggy watched as Doctor K and Summer worked on setting everything up for the plan he had suggested. It had to work, it just had to. He had to make it up to Dillon somehow. Dillon had hid it well but Ziggy could see just how much his fear had shaken him. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to erase the lingering feel of sickening terror. He didn't want to be scared of Dillon.

He turned away and left the room, trusting the women to handle anything that needed doing. When he exited out into the garage, it was to see Dillon approaching his car, a small bag slung over his shoulder. A cry built and froze in his throat when he realized what was going on in Dillon's head. The older man was going to run.

But he couldn't run. He couldn't leave them. Ziggy hurried forward as Dillon slid into his car and stood in front of the Fury. Dillon looked up at him, his eyes intense and annoyed.... and ashamed. Ziggy bit his lip and held his arms out to the side and shook his head quickly. "Ziggy." Dillon whispered. "Get out of my way."

He shook his head again. "No. I'm not moving. Not until you get out of that car."

"Ziggy, move. I will run you over if I have to." Dillon warned and backed it up by starting his car. The sound of the engine coming on pulled the other Rangers from their duties to watch the confrontation.

Ziggy met and held Dillon's gaze. "You won't hurt me." He said for the second time that day. This time, the confidence in his voice wasn't just a ruse. The engine roared again in warning and the car jerked forward but Ziggy didn't budge for a moment. He didn't even blink. "You promised me," he whispered calmly. "That you'd take care of me. And you keep your promises Dillon."

Dillon glared at him. "Are you trying to guilt-trip me again, Grover?" he snapped. But there was a look in Dillon's eye that said he didn't have to. He already had. Ziggy felt the first stirrings of guilt inside of him, because he had caused this; because for one single moment, he had truly believed that Dillon would hurt him and his friends. So he gulped thickly and when the car jerked forward again, he didn't move, didn't even bother to make the startings of a shield. Now was when he had to trust Dillon.

Then he bowed his head and looked up at Dillon from beneath his fringe. "Please don't go." he breathed. Dillon glared at him for a long moment. Then he shut off the car. A sigh of relief flew past Ziggy's lips and a small smile started to form as Dillon climbed out of his car.

"I hope you know your moron." Dillon told him. Ziggy dropped his arms back to his sides and smiled brightly. "So I'm told." he answered. He walked up to Dillon and, before the older man could say anything, engulfed him in a hug. "We're going to stop this Dillon." he whispered. "Don't ever think otherwise."

Dillon hugged him back.

----

Ziggy didn't let Dillon out of his sight for the rest of the day. He followed him around, sat close to him, and if he suspected Dillon was even thinking of running, he poked him. In the cheek. Hard. He did everything and anything that came to mind to make sure Dillon knew he belonged here. Not out in the Wastelands on his own. He'd never belonged there. And he thought that, in some small way, Dillon was glad for the company.

It was interesting, how quickly they had switched roles. Dillon had always been the protector, the stable rock, and Ziggy had been the weak one, the one that needed protection. Now, Dillon needed Ziggy there because it felt like with him, he wasn't going to lose control.

Ziggy smiled slightly as he watched Flynn and Doctor K argue about something in the programming, and turned to walk back to where Dillon was sitting. "Are you okay?" he asked. Dillon gave him an annoyed look. "As well as I was the last time you asked." he said, irritation heavy in his tone.

The younger man winced slightly and stepped back. "Ah. Sorry. I... I'm bothering you, aren't I?" he asked, already moving to walk away. Maybe he had been hovering too close. But when he tried to do so, Dillon reached out and grasped his wrist quickly. "Don't." he said. "You don't have to go."

Relief lit up Ziggy's face and he smiled softly. "Oh good." He whispered. He sat down next to him and let his head lean against Dillon's shoulder. The man stiffened briefly then relaxed, allowing him to stay there. Ziggy's smile grew. Yesterday, Dillon would have brushed him off. Now, the distance between them was diminishing.

It no longer felt like he was drowning.

----

Dillon was struck by a sense of déjà vu as he carefully carried a sleeping Ziggy up the stairs to his room. The younger man had fallen asleep on the couch trying to help the others. He had only sat down for a minute and then had been out like a light. Dillon had been tasked to carry him to bed as the strongest one on the team.

He walked into Ziggy's room easily and carefully arranged the boy on the bed. Ziggy's room had taken on a noticeable green theme since the last time he'd been in here and it made him smile, just slightly. He glanced down at the boy and lost his small smile, his eyes darkening. The look on Ziggy's face that morning was something he would never forget and for the first time, he really did want to forget something.

Ziggy had looked so scared, terrified almost, and the thought that he had made him look like that made him sick. He never wanted to see that look on Ziggy's face again.

He had noticed the bruises forming on Ziggy's arms too. Purple and blue, just starting to edge onto black, half-way between shoulder and elbow. He had seen them just once, towards the end of the day. Once he had, he had nearly run again. This time, Ziggy had had to call Shiva- creepy ass ice goddess from 7th level of hell who dressed way too slutty and had the most annoying smirk- and have her ice his tires to the floor. But when he had, he had been wearing his jacket, so he had to have known.

He sighed softly and didn't think before he leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to Ziggy's forehead. "I'm sorry Ziggy." he whispered, thinking about the raw fear on Ziggy's face. "Goodnight."

----

The battle had been quick and surprisingly easy. It would take a while to clean up the remnants of Venjix's army but they had survived and gotten what they needed. That was all that mattered. Ziggy watched as Dillon paced the length of the lab as Doctor K and Flynn worked, resisting the strong urge to join him. Ziggy sighed slightly and closed his eyes, blocking out the rest of the world.

He snapped out of the daze he'd fallen into when he heard Summer shout in alarm. His eyes snapped opened and he looked towards Dillon to see him grabbing his head and falling to his knees. He gasped and hurried over to him, placing a worried hand on his arm. "Dillon? Are you okay?" he asked.

Dillon stood up slowly and looked down at him. His eyes were red. Ziggy had enough warning to dodge out of the way when Dillon tried to attack him. The other Rangers acted immediately, trying to restrain him as Flynn and K worked to try to undo it. Ziggy watched him struggle against the other Rangers hold and slowly start to throw them off. He listened to Flynn's explanation and choked on his cry.

He watched, unable to do anything as Summer, his first friend among the Rangers, get thrown violently into the wall. He spun to look at K, who was staring at the others helplessly. "Please Doc!" he pleaded, feeling tears pour into his eyes. He looked over at Dillon. "I can't lose him!" he shouted.

She met his gaze for a moment then shook her head quickly and started to type rapidly on her computer. Ziggy spun back around to run over to Dillon. Barely a foot away from him, Dillon grabbed his head and fell down. Ziggy was close enough to grab his shoulders and lower him, with very little control, to the ground so he didn't hurt himself. Dillon gasped, his back arching as the virus struggled to maintain its control then let go.

Dillon's eyes looked up at him, dazed and confused but whole and _him_. Ziggy smiled brightly down at him and whispered, "Welcome back, Dillon."

He and Scott helped the Black Ranger to his feet. "I am getting very sick of asking this." Dillon told them. "But what happened?"

Doctor K sighed slightly as she realized she had just backed herself into a corner she couldn't get out of. It was time they knew. "What happened is that I entered the basecode for the Venjix virus. I know it, because I wrote it. I'm the one who released it. Everything that's happened, everything you've all been through... it's all my fault." she told them.

Flynn and Summer looked shocked. Scott looked betrayed. Dillon looked angry; it was him she really had to worry about. Then there was Ziggy, her sole confidant and the only person who could make Dillon stop if he decided to attack her. If any of the others had looked at him, the would have been shocked by the look of non-surprise on his face. He had known for months.


	7. Chapter 7

Hymn to Fayth

Chapter 7

Ziggy rested his chin on his drawn-up knees, a soft sigh dropping from his lips. He was curled up on his bed, staring out the single window in his room. The light of the fake moon cast strange, otherworldly shadows across his room. Distantly, he became aware of a growing chill in the room. He lifted his head and watched as a soft blue mist ghosted slowly across the floor and frost collected on the window plane in spirals. His breath started to come in clouds. He smiled even as of a cold shiver raced down his spine. "Hello Shiva."

The soft whisper of cloth and footsteps met his ears and the bed in front of him dipped beneath invisible weight. A second later, the ice goddess Shiva, the only summons in his arsenal with the power and will to appear on her own without his calling or assistance, appeared sitting in front of him. She smiled at him, a soft, motherly smile that warmed his heart. She reached out a cold, blue-tinted hand and brushed a few stray strands of hair from his face. Ziggy tilted his head into the caress, feeling but ignoring the chill spreading rapidly across his skin. Shiva's blue gaze met his steadily. "What is it that troubles you, Young Master?" she asked.

"Dillon." He muttered absently, caught in the icy power of her eyes. "He's worried, confused. A bit betrayed. He hit K." he muttered.

The woman chuckled. "Did you not do the same two months ago when you were told?" She reminded gently. Her smile softened around the edges and her eyes shined with understanding. "A rare thing, the bond of summoner and guardian." she whispered, so softly he barely heard her. He hummed softly, lifting his head from her palm to stare at her in confusion. "What?" he asked.

She chuckled again, the sound soft and airy and very pleasing. "Never worry. Why not help him?"

"I don't know how."

"Oh, my dear, dear summoner. How young you still are." She whispered. She gave him an apologetic smile. "I forget just how young. You know not much. Not enough." She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Ziggy shivered slightly as her breath, near none-existent but still freezing, ghosted past his neck and ear. "Do you not understand yet, dear summoner? This body I am given, the source of your powers, the sphere hovering in darkness. We are all the same being. We are memory."

He straightened in surprise, blinking his eyes. "Memory?" he asked. Shiva nodded and told him. "Memory, taken from those already dead and gathered, changed into energy. It forms the Heart of the Universe, matures it, gives us strength, and maintains balance desperately needed. Guide him there. It that place, memories in the Core of a person are easy to find, even if one knows not what they are. He will find answers."

She stood and offered him another kind smile. She leaned down and pressed a gentle, but cold, kiss to his forehead, one that possessed all the affection of a mother. A mother he desperately needed. He smiled at her, watching as she stepped back and then shattered into pieces of ice and motes of light.

--0--0--

Dillon woke to the sound of harried knocking on his door. He groaned and pushed himself up, grumbling irritably under his breath. When he opened the door, Ziggy was standing in front of him, his cheeks slightly flushed. Dillon would be worried if not for the wide, energetic grin on his face. "What?" he asked, still grumpy about being woken up.

"I know how to help you!" Ziggy said in excitement. Before he could stop him, before he even knew he had moved, Ziggy had pushed his way into his room and was maundering on, talking a mile a minute, and sprouting words Dillon barely recognized. He walked forward and placed his hands on Ziggy's shoulders, holding him in place. "Calm down. Talk rationally. Breathe." he ordered.

Ziggy took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down but it ended coming out in a giddy laugh. "I think... I can show you your memories. Or at least some of them."

Dillon froze, his eyes gaining a hint of surprise, disbelief, and just a glimmer of hope. "What? How?" he asked, his voice a low whisper, as if he couldn't speak any louder for fear of proving this all a dream. But Ziggy's smile was kind, his gaze gentle, and the hand he held out was very real.

"Trust me."

--0--0--

There was darkness and cold behind him; warmth and light in front of him. Dillon slid open his eyes and gazed around him. In every direction was black. In front of him of though, was a sphere of wamr light. It almost seemed to call out to him. It asked him: wasn't he tired of the cold?

He was.

He wasn't even aware he had started to drift towards the sphere until a hand fell onto his shoulder and yanked him back as someone shoved themselves in front of him. He blinked, coming out of the daze he had fallen into and looked down. Ziggy stood- floated?- in front of him, both hands on his shoulders and a wild, fearful look in his eyes. "Don't!" the younger man ordered. "It's a trick!"

He blinked, looking around himself in confusion. Once he had seen the sphere he hadn't seen much else. Only now was it registering that he was in a void. There was nothing beneath his feet to stand on so both him and Ziggy were floating. He had also changed clothes; from his night clothes into an all black outfit. Ziggy was dressed in the white-gold color of his powers and the brightest, purest shade of green he'd ever seen. "Where are we?" he asked, looking back at his friend.

Ziggy pulled back, the fearful look in his eyes disappearing. "It's the border between life and death. The sphere leads to death, the black leads to life. The sphere is... the Heart. It's where the memories of the dead rest."

"But I'm not dead, so why are we here?" He asked, trying to ignore the shiver that raced down his spine. The sphere led to death? If Ziggy hadn't been here....well he didn't want to think about it. He also really didn't want to think about Ziggy being here, unguarded, who knows how many times.

"We're not." Ziggy told him. "We're passing through. It's easier to find your core here, when you completely disconnected from the physical world. You need to listen to me very carefully, okay?" Ziggy waited until Dillon had agreed before he started to guide him through the process he had struggled with for days a few months ago. Of course, at that time, he hadn't even known this place existed. He'd give anything for those days when next to nothing.

He watched as Dillon struggled with it for a few seconds. Then, the lines of his face smoothed out as he fell into a deep trance. Ziggy didn't interfere. This was something Dillon had to do on his own. There was something else he needed to do here. He took a deep breath and slowly, gently, so as not to startle him from his daze, placed a hand against Dillon's chest, right above his heart. He paused then, in thought and to see if Dillon had noticed. He hadn't.

He bit his lip and focused. A simple healing wouldn't help him. But maybe.... He hadn't ever used it before, he'd had no reason to, but he'd known the spell for nearly as long as he'd known cure. Power gathered to his fingertips, making his hand glow; the white gold of his power now had tints of emerald green. His eyes dimmed as he focused, whispering one word. "Esuna."

The power swept across Dillon's arm, registered the acidic presence of the virus, and delved in. Ziggy didn't think he could remove or even stop the virus, but maybe, just maybe, he could slow it down. And if Dillon didn't know, well, he knew he didn't tell his team enough about what he was doing half the time anyways.

But Esuna was a passive spell, a cleansing spell, and all too soon Ziggy felt it slip away from the mechanics and dissipate. He sighed, drawing his hand back to his side and shaking his head. There was little he could do to get rid of the Virus without permanently damaging Dillon. His powers were useless in helping his friend. He held up one hand and stared at it. He hated being useless.

Then something went wrong.

Power coiled just beneath his skin then burst out in relative uncontrolledness-if that was even a word. He saw stars briefly, followed immediately by the feeling of the world flying past him as his consciousness was thrown away from the Heart and back into his body. Before he could wonder just what had happened, the stars were replaced.

_Long dark hair flew around tan features, the woman's dark, blank eyes catching away movement and an aura of power held everything else still. The feel of the Heart and... something else, all contained within the small ball of light that hovered before him. Power ran like wild fire, unbearable and urgent, filled with desperation and goodbyes. A soft, cheerful tune. His Hymn to Fayth._

_Then a terrified shout, a choked plea, and beloved voice that was getting farther and farther away._

--0--0--

When Ziggy came too, he was laying on his side in the middle of Dillon's room. His breathing was harsh and he couldn't hear anything outside of the pounding of his head. For a long, single moment, nothing else existed except the vision slowly releasing him from its clutches, leaving him with nothing more than a vague sense of... not really impending doom, more that he was just running out of time, or moving too fast, and a grim determination. Then he became aware of the presence next to him.

Dillon was lying next to him. In fact, one of Dillon's arms was trapped under his head. He flushed slightly, immediately pushing his weary body into a sitting position. Dillon groaned and shifted, opening one eye to look up at him in confusion. "What happened?" he asked.

Ziggy grinned sheepishly. "My fault, I think." he whispered. "I lost my concentration." It wasn't a lie but it wasn't the whole truth. Ziggy sometimes thought that maybe he had gotten too good at giving half-truths and misdirections. He had thought he'd gotten over it. But lying to Dillon, that almost physically hurt. But worrying him... would hurt worse, he knew. It always did. So h =e bowed his head in silent apology. "Did you get anything?" he asked.

Dillon frowned faintly, trying to focus, then whispered. "A sign. There was a name on it."

Ziggy brightened visibly. "Really? That's great! What did it say?"

"Kenmore."

--0--0--

They told the team the next morning. They were supposed to leave for Omega City the day after that.

But things rarely went as they were supposed to. The day they were supposed to leave just happened to be the same day Ziggy's energy levels decided to drop. Drastically. Dillon winced as another, seemingly endless, series of coughs racked the younger man's frail body. Ziggy's shoulders heaved for air and his breaths were ragged. Dillon watched, feeling helpless as Ziggy fell back on the bed once the coughing fit had ended, exhaustion in every line of his body.

He reached out, laying a gentle hand against Ziggy's forehead. He was burning up. "You okay?" he asked softly, trying not to startle him. Ziggy nodded weakly. His eyelids fluttered briefly and he turned his head to stare up at Dillon. A weak, no-where-near-real smile spread across his lips. "Fine." he croaked out, his voice rough and strained. He sounded as exhausted as he looked.

Dillon sighed softly and shook his head. "Ziggy..." he whispered. He reached out and gently grasped his hand. Ziggy had always looked fragile, almost sickly sometimes, but now he looked close to dead. A breath he took seemed like a struggle, as if he barely had the energy to do even that. His normally pale skin was flushed red hot and small beads of sweat plastered his loose bangs to his forehead. His eyes were dark and at half-mast, barely open. There was just the slightest tremble to him.

He tightened his hold on the frail hand in his. "Just this once Zig." he told him quietly. "You don't have to be strong. Not with me."

Ziggy stared up at him through fluttering eyelids then, with nary word nor warning, he was asleep. Dillon sighed and gently held onto the hand in his, leaning further back in his chair and getting more comfortable. He would not be moving anytime soon. He closed his eyes, briefly remembering the sad, apologetic smile on Ziggy's face when he had been unable to move that morning. Dillon had understood and he had even felt bad for the guilt on Ziggy's face. Things had gone down hill from there as Ziggy's condition just got worse.

Dillon slid his eyes open to stare at his friend again. Ziggy had always been the strong one, in heart and mind if not in body. To see him like this was.... strange wasn't strong enough- maybe confusing and just a bit distressing. He sighed and shook his head. Ziggy's bad days were getting worse; the other Rangers had never seen him like this before.

It didn't matter, he decided. He swore he was going to protect Ziggy and he would. From anything.

--0--0--

Ziggy groaned softly as he woke, blinking up at his ceiling. He certainly felt better but he really didn't want to test that by trying to get up. He coughed slightly, wincing when he felt how dry his throat was. Okay, maybe he didn't have a choice but to get up. He shifted and slowly pushed himself up onto his elbows. Then he let himself fall back down. Forget it, he was exhausted. He wondered if he could get the other Rangers to get himself something.

He glanced around his room, trying to see if there was something he could use to call them, because he didn't think shouting was going to work. And froze. Hunched over in a chair, head resting in his arms against the foot of the bed, was Dillon. He watched the older man for a second, his breath feeling like it was stuck in his throat. Dillon was defiantly asleep.

He reached forward tentatively and, after a moment's pause, combed his hand through the older man's hair. Dillon shifted, muttered something under his breath, but didn't wake up. Ziggy smiled softly, his eyes shining in amusement.

"_Just this once Zig, you don't have to be strong. Not with me."_

His smile slipped aware as he gained a thoughtful look. Not with Dillon, eh? He trusted Dillon, trusted him a lot, more than he'd ever trusted anybody. But there were somethings he'd never trusted anybody with. Vulnerability was one of them. Could he trust Dillon with that?

Hadn't he already done so? Did he even have a choice anymore?

"Hm... Ziggy?"

He jumped slightly in surprise and glanced down. Dillon had woken up while he thought and was gazing at him through heavy eyelids and questioning eyes. He blinked at the older man for a moment then realized that even while he thought his hand had continued to stroke through Dillon's hair. He blushed heavily and immediately jerked his hand back to his side. Dillon pushed himself up. The two gazed at each other for a long moment then Ziggy gave a tentative wave. "Morning." he whispered. He winced immediately after when his throat protested.

A small smile twitched at Dillon's lips. "Need some water?"

He nodded hurriedly. Dillon stood up. "Be right back." The older man told him and reached down to gently squeeze his shoulder. Ziggy smiled softly. Dillon turned around and left the room. Once the door was shut behind him, he reached up and gently ran his hand over his head. A slow, pleased smile slipped across his lips as he remembered the attractive flush that had graced Ziggy's cheeks.

Maybe they couldn't go search down his memories yet but if he was honest, he'd give up his memories all over again if it meant he got to keep this little moments.


	8. Chapter 8

Hymn to Fayth

Chapter 8-

_In which Scott is tortured by sap and Ziggy proves why you don't piss him off_

"Road trip." Ziggy whispered, his tone light with excitement as he stared at the vehicle they were to take to Kenmore. Dillon smiled slightly and shook his head in amusement. It was easy to forget sometimes just how young Ziggy was until Ziggy himself reminded you. He normally acted much older than he was, always weighed down by the knowledge and power of his gifts. Seeing him act so free was a rare but cherished sight. "Ready to go?" he asked.

Ziggy nodded enthusiastically, a wide smile splitting his face in two. "Come on!" He shouted, grabbing Dillon's hand and tugging him towards the vehicle. Dillon shook his head again but allowed himself to be pulled bodily towards the Go-Onger.

Off to the side Scott rolled his eyes as he watched the two interact. "I swear I get cavities just watching those two." He told the others. Flynn chuckled slightly and agreed. "I think it's sweet." Summer told him.

Scott and Flynn shared a look. "Too sweet's more like it." Flynn replied.

"I feel like I'm being suffocated by the sap." Scott agreed. "I am happy for them, don't get me wrong. But there is only so much 'sweetness' I can handle on a daily basis. It's bad enough those two go all googly-eyed over each other. It's worse that they won't admit it. Have you tried talking to the two about it?"

Summer shook her head. "No; why?"

Scott shook his head and grabbed one of the bags, slinging it over his shoulder. "Mention it and you're lucky if you get a coherent sentence out of Ziggy for two hours afterwards, not to mention how badly he starts to blush. And Dillon's got a death glare mastered by now."

"I swear," he continued, moving towards the vehicle. "There are times I just want to strangle them."

"Strangle who?" Ziggy asked, spinning in his chair to watch them enter. His eyes were wide and bright and shined at the three of them. Dillon had taken the seat directly behind him. Summer smiled back at the youngest Ranger. "Oh, no one." She told him, setting her bags down and sitting across from Dillon. Flynn immediately dove for the driver's seat.

"Ready to go?" he asked. They all nodded. "Then off we go."

Ziggy's ecstatic shout made them all laugh.

--0--0--

Ziggy couldn't stop the gasp that left his throat the minute they left the dome and the safety of the shield. The sheer lifelessness of the Wastelands hit him head on, shocking his system. For one single moment, his powers shut down and the world went dark, leaving him to be swept up in the bleakness. There was nothing here. Everything was dead. How could everything just be dead?

Then a hand fell on his shoulder, jerking him back to the normal world. Everything righted itself again and he reached out with his senses, mentally clinging desperately to the life-signs of the other Rangers. Only then did he become aware that he had closed his eyes. He snapped them back open and swung his head around to gaze at Dillon, who was staring at him in concern. "Dillon?"

"Hey, you okay?" Dillon asked softly. It was then Ziggy noticed everyone was staring at him. He gulped and nodded slowly, taking a deep breath. "Y-yeah." he whispered shakily. "I'm good."

Dillon's eyes bore into his, as if trying to see if he was lying. "You sure? We can still turn back if you're not up to this. Try another day."

Ziggy stared at him, knowing he wasn't going to turn back now. He had promised Dillon he'd help him find out his past. He refused to be the thing that held him back from doing that. "I'm fine. Let's just keep going." He assured kindly, smiling weakly. Without his conscious thought, one of his hands came up and grasped Dillon's hand, which was still resting on his shoulder. Dillon stared at him for another minute then smiled slightly, gripping his hand tightly.

Behind them, Scott leaned over to whisper in Summer's ear. "Like I said. Cavities." She bit back a laugh and whacked her arm against his stomach good-naturedly. He coughed slightly in surprise and grinned but didn't say anything else.

--0--0--

"I think our navigator fell asleep." Flynn told them about an hour later, humor in his tone. They all looked and sure enough, Ziggy was dead to the world. He was curled up in his car, legs tucked neatly under him, and the map he'd been using had fallen to the floor.

Summer smiled softly at the sight. "Maybe we should have waited one more day." She said. "Just to make sure he was at his best."

The boys all shared a look. Dillon snorted and told her. "Yeah, good luck convincing him of that. He's way too stubborn to allow it." Even as he spoke Ziggy muttered something under his breath, his expression becoming slightly pained. Without thinking about it, Dillon reached over the back of the chair and ran his fingers through Ziggy's hair. After a moment, the younger man settled, his expression turning peaceful again.

Scott groaned as he watched the two and slapped both his hands over his eyes. "Oh God, someone please make it stop!" He whined, making the others look at him. "I can't take the sap!" All his efforts earned him was two laughs from Summer and Flynn and a dark glare from Dillon.

--0--0--

_Ziggy stared at the young woman in front of him, mentally steeling himself for what he was about to do. He took a deep breath, ignoring the cold, blank eyes staring at him, and pushed his hands forward. The circle of summoning appeared beneath his feet. Then another above him, then one on every side. Then more still. For every one that appeared he felt more and more of his energy being stripped away; more and more he started to fall away from the warmth and light, consumed by the spell he was shaping. _

_The power grew and grew till it ran like wild-fire through him, burning him, and forget whatever else he'd felt, this **hurt**! He was only vaguely aware of two things outside the area of his spell. The young woman still watching him, her long brown hair spun up in the fury of his power, and the blue eyes staring at him in regret, pain, and loss. _

_A slow sound built in the back of his head, playing again and again. He latched onto that sound, feeling his body start to go numb but knowing he couldn't quit just yet. Not yet. He still had to save her. He focused on that sound, the soft, repeating hymn, and used it as a grounding point as the final part of the spell approached._

_All the power he was gathering, the pure essence of his beloved summons, gathered into a small sphere in the middle of his palms, glowing so brightly it lacked color. He took a deep, but shaky, breath, closing his eyes as reality settled around him. He couldn't undo it now. Doing so would kill him and her. Right now, he had the power to change the world. _

_But at such a cost...._

"Ziggy."

_He bit his lip even though he knew now was no time to be indecisive. He had no time for second thoughts. Then...he wished._

"Ziggy!"

_He was falling. He didn't know how to make himself stop. The wind was rushing past his ears and his clothes flapped around, striking back against him as much as away from him and that hurt. His hair was flying in every direction. If he had the chance to try, he'd never get the tangles out. He was so tired. Too tired to summon Valefor. Too tired to even save himself. Just strong enough to save her. _

_He was falling faster now. Too fast, too far. The warmth was sliding away more and more, leaving him numb and cold. Too numb to feel; too cold to care. _

_He heard it again then, building in the back of his mind. The hymn. His Hymn to Fayth. Abruptly, tears stung his eyes and he choked down a sob. He hoped that, in time, he'd be forgiven. This was just something he needed to do. And if he had told them, **him**, they would never have allowed him to do it. _

_He closed his eyes and stopped trying to struggle for breath. He'd down it, at least. That would have to count for something. The last thing he heard was the Hymn cutting off with a crash. He never even registered hitting the ground. He must have blacked out at some point because know there were hands shaking his shoulders and someone shouting at him. The words were distant. He couldn't focus on them. They sounded choked. He was just vaguely aware of something cool, like water, dropping onto his cheek but he couldn't bring himself to open his eyes to find out._

_He was so tired...._

_"Ziggy! Ziggy, please! Don't do this to me!"_

_Then he let himself just drift away._

"**Ziggy**!"

He bolted up right, eyes wide and his breath coming in quick gulps. He stared, almost without seeing him, at Dillon for a long moment, trying to figure out what was going on. Dillon's eyes were worried. "Ziggy, are you okay?" he asked.

It took him a very long moment to realize that Dillon's hands were on his shoulders and the older man was kneeling in front of him. It took him an even longer moment to realize that the other Rangers were all watching him as well, and Flynn had stopped driving. It felt like he'd been jarred.

"Ziggy?" Dillon asked again, drawing his eyes back towards him. "Are you alright? You were asleep but..."

"Asleep?" he asked breathlessly. "A dream?" The second question was directed to himself. God, that was no dream. It had felt too real, too much like he was living it, to be a dream. He shivered slightly, closing his eyes and trying to calm his racing heart. It didn't work. Already he felt too crowded, too suffocated. And the edges of the dream lingered, pushing in on him. All he could feel was the terrifying feeling of falling, of running out of time, of being unable to even muster the energy to save himself. The feeling that he was never going to be forgiven.

He burst out of Dillon's hold, unable to stay still any longer, and pushed roughly past Scott and Summer, heading for the door. He stumbled out of the sudden crowded vehicle, walked a few steps, then collapsed to his hands and knees, taking in deep, gulping breaths. The air here was rougher then he was used to, not nearly as clean, but he didn't care. God, he was so tired.

He felt more than heard or saw Dillon follow him and drop down next to him, one hand resting on his shoulder. "Ziggy?"

He didn't answer immediately, whispering to himself. "Just a dream. Just a dream. Just a dream."

Then Dillon turned to look at the other Rangers standing behind them. "That's it." he snapped. "We're going back."

Ziggy's eyes widened. _No..._ Before he even thought about it, his hand shot up, wrapping around Dillon's wrist like steel. "No!" He shouted, his voice panicked. Dillon looked mildly alarmed by his reaction and slowly reached forward, grasping Ziggy's hand with his free one gently. "Ziggy? Ziggy it's okay. Let me go, Zig." he whispered, the order spoken softly and gently.

He gulped and slowly released his hand. "Please Dillon." He pleaded softly. "Let's just go. Let's get to Kenmore. It was... it was a dream." He told him, trying to convince himself as much as Dillon. Dillon stared at him for a long moment then, rather reluctantly, nodded. "Alright. But if something else happens, we are going back. Kenmore be damned."

He nodded and stood up with Dillon's assistance, already starting to feel much better. "Thank you." he whispered, his eyes filled with gratitude. He went to walk back to the vehicle when he became aware of something... weird. Something was tugging on his senses, trying to get his attention. He paused, looking around to find the source. But there was nothing around but the Rangers and barren wasteland. He shivered slightly, continuing to look around. "Ziggy?" Dillon asked. "What's wrong?"

He closed his eyes and channeled a small spark of power into the palms of his hands. He forced it down and around him in a gentle gust, waiting for a response of some sort.

Summer gasped in startlement. "Ziggy, look!"

He opened his eyes again to find his response. Hundreds of little lights made of the softest shades of blue, green, and gold were floating around him, drifting casually towards the sky. They looked a lot like the motes of like created when he dismissed one of his summons. He stared at them in surprise, looking around himself to find he was surrounded. Despite the fact that they were kind of creepy, they were beautiful.

"What are they?" Summer asked, walking forward to reach a hand out towards one. Scott and Flynn were right behind her. The word came to him easily. "Pyreflies." he told her, watching as she jerked her hand back from one with a stricken expression. "Pyreflies?" she asked. "Like pyre as in funeral pyre?"

He nodded. "They're the memories of the dead." he whispered in explanation. Next to him, Dillon's expression turned thoughtful and he knew the older man was remembering the Heart. "Sometimes," he continued. "They get trapped here. They don't know they're way." He turned his eyes away from the sight of the last of them floating away back towards his teammates. "It's alright. I'm alright. Let's go."

--0--0--

Ziggy really hated Venjix attack-bots. He danced away from the new that had intercepted them, wondering why it was so focused on him. The other Rangers couldn't help him; they were being held back by some sort of revved-up Grinders and couldn't get to him. He knew they were trying but they weren't getting though. And that left him to deal with the attack-bot. He yelped in surprise as he dodged around a hit to the head only to be kicked in the stomach, throwing him back.

He landed hard, his breath escaping him in a rush. He was vaguely aware of the ranger suit disappearing due to the sudden trauma. He rolled onto his side, one hand clutching at his ribs as he gasped in much-needed air. "Today's not my day." he whispered, slowly pushing himself up onto his elbows. He froze when a shadow fell over him, briefly aware of Dillon screaming his name. Slowly he raised his head to stare at the attack-bot looming over him, fear tightening his throat. Today **definitely** wasn't his day.

"So your the source of the power destroying my ranks." The attack-bot said, sounding horribly gleeful.

If possible, Ziggy tensed even more. "Your ranks?" he whispered, shock and horror freezing his heart in place. "You're _Venjix_?!"

His startled shout grabbed the attention of the other Rangers. "What?" Scott demanded. "That's Venjix?!"

Dillon growled, breaking through the lines of Grinders to help his friend. "Get away from him!" He shouted, swinging at Venjix.

Ziggy watched as Dillon and the Virus fought, his heart hammering in his chest. Slowly, his fear- for himself and for his friend- gave way to anger. This was the monster that had destroyed the world. This was the monster that had taken away Dillon's memories, his sister, and his life. This was the monster that had trapped them all in the dome, that had them fighting for their lives daily. This was the monster that had killed everyone!

A deep, boiling fury built up in him, so dense he could barely breath or think straight. His throat closed up tight and he couldn't make himself calm down. Pyreflies started to appear and drift around him, their anger at their death fueling his own rage. He watched as Dillon was slammed away, his Ranger suit disappearing as well. His expression was pained. Ziggy saw red.

"You..." Dillon turned his head at the whisper, watching as Ziggy climbed to his feet slowly. He wanted to tell the younger man to run but before he could he noticed that Ziggy seemed... off. He was tense, completely tense, and his hands were balled so tightly that Dillon feared they'd start to bleed.

He watched as Ziggy turned to look at Venjix. The cold fury on his face made him gasp and he noticed out of the corner of his eye the other Rangers step back in surprise. Ziggy had never looked so angry and the sudden wrath, the hate, was frightening.

Ziggy's voice whispered out softly, deathly cold, and filled with the same fury as his eyes. "You are going to pay **dearly** for that." He hissed. Before Venjix could move to stop him he raised before hands towards the air and a summoning circle appeared beneath his feet. Ziggy's hands tightened on thin air then jerked downwards towards the ground. The air just above and in front of him twisted and a long chain slammed into the ground, creating a dark, angry red pool of liquid. Slowly, the chain lifted up again, pulling Ziggy's new summons with it.

It wasn't like the others. The others were scary but somehow gentle. This one was ugly and terrifying. It was wrapped completely in chains and bindings, it's hands trapped to its chest. Only its left eye was visible. It looked as if extended underground as well; an impressive feat as it stood nearly four stories above Ziggy.

Ziggy straightened, leveling his furious gaze on Venjix. The summons let out a shriek of rage that seemed to startle even Venjix. Ziggy did not budge or give an inch. "Feel my pain." he whispered, his voice chilly and full of anger. The summons towering above him gave another enraged shriek and the ground beneath Venjix turned the same angry red as the pool the summons had emerged from. Venjix disappeared beneath it.

For a long heartbeat, nothing happened. Then Venjix reappeared, dropping from the sky to land in a jumble of twisted metal and sparking machinery. It stood slowly, glaring at Ziggy and the summons roaring above him in warning. "You win this round." his hissed. Then he disappeared.

No one moved to chase after him, all eyes locked on the thing by Ziggy's side. Slowly, it started to disappear into the motes of light Ziggy called pyreflies. The minute it disappeared completely, Ziggy dropped to his hands and knees, shaking heavily and fighting tears.

Forgetting his fear of the creature Ziggy had called, Dillon pushed himself to his feet and walked over to his friend. "Ziggy are you okay?" he asked. Immediately, Ziggy reached up and latched onto his arms, pulling himself closer as he continued to shake.

"What was that?" Flynn asked, looking at the place that summons had stood.

"Anima, the Chained Devil." Ziggy whispered. Dillon frowned at his tone. Ziggy sounded drained and on the verge of crying. "I never... thought I'd summon her."

"Hey," he whispered, placing a hand beneath Ziggy's chin and forcibly lifting his head. "What's wrong?"

Ziggy's took a deep, shaky breath, tears dotting his lashes and looking ready to fall. Never had he seen the younger man so close to crying before and it broke his heart. "It takes a lot of hate to summon Anima." Ziggy whispered. "A lot of hate. I don't ever want to feel like that again." He pushed himself closer to Dillon, practically curling up in his lap, still shaking heavily.

Dillon closed his eyes tightly against the pain in his voice. How much hate had Ziggy been channeling to pull that off? To get this kind of reaction? Apparently, enough to terrify him. He pressed his lips together briefly then pulled back to look Ziggy in the eye. "Hey," he whispered softly. "Remind me never to piss you off, okay?" he requested, smiling slightly in an effort to calm the younger man down.

Ziggy stared at him for a long time then gave a weak laugh. Then another. Then another. Then looked back at Dillon and smiled softly. He nodded. "Okay." he whispered.

There was a moment of silence then Scott screamed. "Dear God, make them stop!" He shouted, burying his hands in his hair. Ziggy watched him in confusion, blinking slowly as the cold ball of terror at his own anger unraveled. He looked back at Dillon questioningly. "Why is Scott loosing his mind?" he asked.

Dillon snorted and tightened his hold on Ziggy reassuringly. "It's the sap." he whispered.


	9. Chapter 9

Hymn to Fayth

Chapter 9

Gem and Gemma were... nice.

That was what Ziggy would say if someone ever asked him. The twins were... nice. And that would be all he said on the matter. In truth, he thought they were loud, insane, and might just get them all killed someday. The two of them were too used to being by themselves to just slide into a team right off the bat. No, they'd have to be coaxed and cajoled and even yelled at before it happened. Thankfully, they were also smart and very good fighters. And they knew Doctor K.

And he wouldn't trade the look on her face when she saw them for anything.

And yet, they asked so many questions; mostly about him and his powers. If Dillon hadn't pulled him away and ordered him to bed, he was pretty sure he would have stayed up all night answering their questions. Always 'can you do this' and 'what about this'? And then there were the uncomfortable questions he couldn't answer: 'Where do they come from' and 'what are the summons'? Questions where he thought he knew the answer but wasn't sure. And then there was Gem's last question.

_"Well, what are your powers for?" He asked, looking at him with innocent, child-like curiosity. Ziggy blanched at the question and tried not to notice for the rest of the team gave up any pretense of not listening to hear his answer. And he only had one._

_"I don't know." He whispered back, dropping his gaze. "I don't know much about my powers. I don't know if I'm the first to have them. I don't what they're for. I don't even know the full extent of what they can do really. I just kind of, wing it." He glanced back up to see the twins gazing at him as if hanging on his every word._

_There was a small silence then Dillon walked up and seized his wrist in a firm grip. "Alright, that's enough." He gave Ziggy a stern but sympathetic look. "Bed."_

Ziggy sighed and rested his chin on his knees, staring down at his bare feet and the dark green sheet beneath them. He really didn't know much about his own powers. He, no, all of them, had stopped asking those questions a long time ago before they even had the answers. Of course, at the time, there had been no one to ask. Now there was.

"Shiva." He breathed softly, exerting just a bit of power to help guide her. She never really needed his help but it was polite to give it. The summons went without the theatrics this time; in fact, the only announcement of her arrival was a small drop in temperature. Long, graceful fingers curled in his hair as Shiva settled down next to him. "I do dear hope that someday I will be summoned to battle, Young Master." she said, a hint of humor in her tone.

He smiled and apologized. Really, he hadn't noticed but he never had summoned Shiva to fight before. The idea hadn't even crossed his mind before. But he made a promise to himself to do so. Shiva was by far his favorite and he wished dearly to see the grace and majesty she had displayed in battle. "Can I ask you something?" he asked.

Her smile was wide and her eyes were amused when she nodded. "You have but I shall permit you one more." she whispered.

"Can you tell me about my powers?"

Shiva's expression instantly sobered and she pulled away, her hand dropping from his hair. He blinked at her in surprise, wondering if he had said something wrong. Before he could ask, Shiva spoke up. Her words chilled him to the bone and left him severely unsettled. "This world is older than you know. Long ago, very long ago, this world was once known by a different name. Spira, they called it. It was there that the tradition of summoners began. Dozens of people trained, traveled, to become summoners. Then, in one single moment, the need for summoners vanished. And so the art of summoning, the knowledge and traditions, just faded away. The Fayth were finally allowed to sleep.

"Then, the world changed once again. The precious balance this world depends on to survive disappeared and the need for a summoner's abilities returned. But there were no more summoners. Any trace of the power they had had was gone. But their memories still existed, within the Heart, and it is there they collected; their knowledge, their powers, their skills combined into one. The Fayth were reawakened to serve once again. And the powers, the memories of the long dead summoners were gifted onto one person. The tradition of the summoner reappeared but only in times of great unrest, and only one at any one time. The summoner was charged with correcting the damage done to the world.

"That is what you are. What your powers are. This world has fallen drastically out of balance with the emergence of Venjix and you have been given the power, and thus the obligation, to save it. No one else can do this. You are the only one with enough self-balance to maintain and control the gifts you have."

Ziggy stared at her for a long moment, his heart in his throat. He had to save the world. Some part of him had known that for a long while now but he had been ignored it as best he could. He never had done well with responsibility. "I don't want to save the world." he whispered.

Shiva's eyes softened as she gazed down at him. "I know." she whispered. She walked towards him again then stopped and dropped to one knee, bowing her head and causing her long navy colored hair to spill over one shoulder. "I am your Aeon, Ziggy Grover. My duty is to protect you to the best of my abilities and help you fulfill your mission. I am at your command."

"I don't want a soldier!" he replied venomously. "I… I want a friend. I need a friend."

"You have friends. The Rangers are your friends, your guardians. They are meant to support you. I am... just a tool." she told him calmly. But she sounded... tired, resigned. She had given into her fate.

He shook his head and reached down to her, brushing her hair out of her face. Then he framed her face in his hands and tilted her head up to him. "You are not a tool. You're a person. My friend." He whispered, smiling for her. She gazed back at him then smiled at him.

"That is why you are my favorite. We are not tools to be used then thrown away. We are people to you. That is not a gift we have had in a very long time." She stood up and smiled back at him, grabbing his hands. Both of them were freezing due to the prolonged exposure to her chilled skin. But he didn't mind. "It is people like you that make eternity worth the wait."

She stepped back and he could feel the gathering energy that marked her departure. "Wait!" he shouted. She paused, tilting her head to the side to look at him. "What's an Aeon? A Fayth? Stop throwing out terms I don't understand and then leaving."

"I am an Aeon. A summoning. I am also a Fayth. A Fayth is a soul willingly taken from a still-living body in order to serve as an Aeon. I wished to be an Aeon. I had the hope that I would help end the need for anyone else to do what I did. An Aeon- and its Fayth- is forever, Young Master. And eternity is... a very long time."

"Aren't you tired?" he asked, staring up at her. Shiva looked at him and there did seem to be an exhausted look on her face. But she shook her head. She leaned down and pressed a soft, cold, but loving kiss to his forehead. This time, when she made to leave, he didn't stop her. When she had left, he sighed and looked out his window. "I think you are. Very, very tired."

He sighed and curled back into a ball, dropping down onto his side. "I don't want to save the world." he whispered.

----

Time skip- after _**Ancient History**_

Dillon stared at the two keys in his hands, pressing his lips together. He still had no idea how to make his sister's work. If he could get it to work then he'd have his answers, he knew it. Ziggy had tried to help but neither of them had been able to figure it out. He sighed and threw the keys back around his neck, standing up and walking out of his room. He had already had one nightmare for the night, he didn't need another.

Once he had exited onto the catwalk he noticed the door to Ziggy's room was open. He frowned tightly and walked towards it, glancing in at the room. It was empty, the blankets rumpled and thrown back. He sighed heavily and moved quickly towards the stairs. He stopped there, shaking his head when he saw Ziggy sitting on the bottom steps. The white coat he had worn before becoming a Ranger was thrown over his shoulders and his hands were curled around a steaming cup.

He moved to stand just behind him, leaning against the railing and following his gaze. Ziggy was staring at the closed doors of the Garage. "Can't sleep either?" he asked. Ziggy shook his head. He nodded. "I know the feeling."

Ziggy looked up at him, his eyes dark. Dillon frowned and moved to sit next to him. "Hey, you okay?"

The younger man smiled and nodded slightly. "'m fine. It just feels like a very long night." He replied. He sighed heavily and looked down at the cup in his hands. "I've been having this vision for a while now." he whispered suddenly. "It started when I became a Ranger."

Dillon's eyes widened in surprise. A vision? Why hadn't he said anything before? "Ziggy, that was months ago! Why didn't you say anything?"

Ziggy's lips pressed together and he sighed heavily. "I... couldn't figure out what it was trying to tell me. I still don't know what it's trying to tell me. But, I can feel time running out. I don't know what to do and I'm running out of time to figure out." His eyes narrowed down at the cup in his hands. "I have to save her." He whispered.

Dillon blinked in surprise. "Save?" he asked. "Save who?" Ziggy opened his mouth to respond then shrugged his shoulders. "I can't… see her face. Not very well." He replied. "I tried to ask Shiva but she doesn't know either." Ziggy sighed heavily again and hunched his shoulders, making himself smaller. "It's giving me a headache."

The older man reached forward and wrapped an arm around Ziggy's shoulders. With his other hand he reached forward and tugged the cup out of his hands and rested it on the stairs behind him. "Don't worry about it. I'll take care of you if something happens." Ziggy looked up at him and there was a slight flush to his cheeks. Dillon frowned; was the younger man sick?

"Thank you Dillon." Ziggy whispered, smiling slightly. He leaned against him, closing his eyes and sighing. "I'm tired."

Dillon smiled slightly and pressed a quick kiss into Ziggy's messy hair without thinking about it. Ziggy laughed softly at the move, his flush deepening. "You always take care of me." He whispered. He looked back up at him and smiled. "Thank you." He whispered. Dillon chuckled. "You've said that already."

A wide, bright smile stretched across his face. "But it's true." He insisted. Dillon shook his head in response, a small smile touching his lips.

Ziggy's eyes darkened suddenly, a strange blank look taking over his face. Dillon frowned slightly then felt the sharp bit of power in the air. "Ziggy?" he asked. "You doing that?" He looked back down at Ziggy, straight into his dark brown eyes. That ancient knowledge Ziggy held shined brightly just beneath the surface and just like he had so very long ago he felt like he could figure out all of Ziggy's secrets through his gaze. He found himself drowning in his gaze, caught in the swirling mix of power and knowledge in his eyes. The power in the air built up but Ziggy didn't say anything, the blank look still on his face.

Dillon felt calm wash over him in waves and he couldn't bring himself to be alarmed about the situation. He shifted and moved to kneel in front of Ziggy on the last stair before he thought about it. He stared up at the younger man, still caught in his dark gaze, and spoke without a thought for the words. He didn't even know why he said it. "Release your pain onto me." He breathed, absently noting the way the power in the air spiked. "And I will be your Guardian."

A slow, small smile spread across Ziggy's lips but awareness didn't return to his eyes. "Then stand, my dear knight." He breathed, holding out on his hands. Dillon took it. Power flared between them suddenly, lighting of the room in a blast of white gold. Dillon gasped before everything went black.

When he came to, Ziggy was leaning against him, breathing softly and sound asleep. He blinked in surprise and confusion, frowning when he noticed his breath coming out in small white clouds. Slowly, already knowing what he would find, he raised his head and met dark blue eyes. Shiva stared back at him from where she sat watching him calmly, sitting in the spot he had occupied earlier. The summons nodded to him in acknowledgment, her eyes looking surprised but amused. "It has been a long time." She told him. "Since there was a true Guardian."

He frowned up at her, confusion warring with suspicion in his mind. He knew nothing about Shiva- this was, in fact, only the third time he had ever seen her, and the first time she had spoken to him- yet Ziggy trusted her immensely. She stared at him for a minute and he stared back before she motioned with her head towards Ziggy. "Perhaps he should be allowed to rest for now." She told him. He glanced down at the sleeping summoner in his arms then gathered him closer, standing up and walking towards his room. Shiva didn't move from her place on the stairs but watched him carry Ziggy to bed. He tread carefully up the metal stairs, very aware of the ice forming there because of Shiva's mere presence.

When Dillon returned from tucking the younger man into bed, something that was happening with more and more frequency, Shiva still hadn't moved. He stopped at the top of the steps, watching the ice creeping up the walls and stairway warily. He glanced down at the summons. "What do you want?" he asked. Shiva met his gaze and stood up finally, walking towards him. She stopped just before him, crossing her arms over her chest in an imitation of his current stance. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"The Guardian-bond. It has been a very long time since there was one." She told him calmly. At his confused look she kept talking. "From the moment you saw him, you've wanted to protect him and you don't know why. It's just that something about him makes the people around him wish to protect from all forms of harm. It's his powers that do that. It does that so eventually, someone will grow close enough to him that a Guardian-bond will form."

"Why?" he asked. "What's so important about a Guardian-bond?" he asked.

Shiva smiled slightly and shook her head. "There are only so many things a summoner can do without a true Guardian." She stepped closer to him, causing a sharp chill to wash over him. "You are his Guardian now, Sir Dillon. There is only one rule for Guardians but it has never been broken. The Code of the Guardian: Protect the summoner, even at the cost of your own life."

--0--0--

_Ziggy looked around himself in confusion, finding himself in a wide but empty room. The walls towered above him and led into blackness. The room was lit by torches and a strange blue glow that seemed to seep out from the walls. He turned to look behind him and founded an opening covered by a shield-like piece of stone of pale blue coverings that came out of the ground and seemed to be as thick of shells yet looked like silk. He blinked in confusion and looked down at himself. He was wearing the strange outfit/robe he appeared in when visiting the Heart._

_He walked farther into the room, his feet not making a single sound against the cold stone floor. In the middle of the floor was a perfect half-sphere of raised glass. He stopped at the edge of it, gazing down beneath the surface. A strangely shaped stone, looking much like the back of a woman, lay beneath the glass. He tilted his head to the side in curiosity as he stared at it, wondering about its purpose. Considering there were no other decorations in the room, this stone had to be its main attraction._

_The stone glowed suddenly and a wave of cold swept through the room. He gasped and stumbled away from it. The lights flared and dimmed erratically then settled abruptly. The image of a young girl appeared, her bare feet resting against the cool glass above the stone. She looked over at him, her blue eyes shining brightly from her child-like face. Long, dark brown hair hung around her form. She was pale and dressed in what looked to be a ceremonial outfit. "Ziggy Grover." She whispered, her voice soft and almost familiar. _

_He blinked at her and nodded. _

"_Help me." She pleaded. "Help us." She sighed and looked away from him, wrapping her arms around herself. "We… we are so tired now. Please," She looked back up at him. "Let us rest again." He watched her in confusion. "Who are you?" He asked. She looked back at him then cast her eyes down to the stone beneath her._

"_Help us." She whispered again._

_He shook his head and looked around him. "I don't know… how." He whispered. He looked back at her. "Are you the girl I'm supposed to save?" he asked. She shook her head. "No. I am… someone already long gone." She looked back at him. "You have… an unforeseeable, painful path before you Ziggy Grover. But you can make your own destiny." She told him._

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_You can keep your world safe forever or you can let us rest. Please, we just want to rest now." She whispered. She looked up at him and smiled. "You are a good person, Ziggy Grover. You… will always be my favorite."_


	10. Chapter 10

Hymn to Fayth

Chapter 10

Ziggy had been acting weirdly ever since the Guardian bond had formed. Granted that had only been about three days ago. Dillon frowned and glanced over at the young man curled up in the passenger seat of his car, staring out the window with his legs tucked under him. He had been quiet lately, very quiet, and the darkness in his eyes had increased. He was paler than normal and he seemed drained of energy. His smiles were weaker, not as bright, and he didn't act as enthusiast. He couldn't figure out what had caused the sudden change but he knew it had something to do with the Guardian bond. None of the other Rangers could talk the problem out of him either but Summer had mentioned in a distressed tone that Ziggy had acted like this before when he had first started to learn about his powers.

He sighed heavily, turning his gaze back towards the road flying by beneath him. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Ziggy turn his head to look at him. That was another thing. He seemed to be hyper aware of Ziggy now, even more than he was before and it felt like he was hardly out of his sight. He always knew where the younger man was and roughly how he felt. Last week when Ziggy had caught a small cold he had been left feeling disoriented and off balance. If Ziggy became panicked for any reason, especially when they fought, he was immediately on edge and, even if the situation would bring no harm to Ziggy, he became snappy. He was slowly learning what it meant to be a true Guardian.

It was no wonder no one had broken the Code of the Guardian. The bond made one so paranoid about the safety of their summoner that nothing even got the chance to hurt them.

"Is something bothering you Dillon?"

He blinked out of his thoughts and glanced over at Ziggy again. The younger man was staring at him with dark, concerned eyes, his head tilted to the side in question. He sighed again, his hands tightening around the steering wheel. "I'm fine. I was going to ask you that." he whispered.

Ziggy's lips pressed shut and he turned his head back towards the window. "If you don't like the bond," Dillon whispered slowly, thinking about each word as he said them. "Then I'm sure there's a way we can break it."

The younger man immediately turned back towards him with a desperate look. "That's not it!" he protested sharply. Dillon gave him a look that asked what was. Ziggy stared up at him for a long, defiant moment then sighed, his shoulders sagging in defeat. "There are things," he whispered. "A Summoner can not do without a Guardian."

"Shiva told me that." he replied.

Ziggy laughed softly but it sounded hollow. "I knew things before Dillon. I told you that. Too many things. Things I shouldn't know. Things I don't want to." He sighed again and collapsed back against his seat, looking pale and worn. He ran a hand through his hair briefly then let it fall back to his lap. "Now I know even more." he finished, his voice a dead whisper.

Dillon grimaced in understanding. When he had first met Ziggy, the younger man had looked very tired without a smile on his face. He had looked weighed down with the weight of the world. Since he had become a Ranger that had started to change. He began looking more and more refreshed as time went on. His limits evened out and he no longer feinted suddenly; although this did cause him to start pushing his limits and see how much he could do and how long he could make the day. But if he thought about it, the look Ziggy had now was the same one he had had when they had first met, before they had really gotten close.

"I'm a coward." Ziggy whispered suddenly, pulling his legs up to his chest despite the seat belt. Dillon glanced over at him and frowned. "No, you're not." he denied. "Others would have given up a long time ago under the strain."

Ziggy didn't look at him when he breathed out, "And still others would have done what needed to be done the minute they knew how."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded. Ziggy sighed miserably, his shoulders hunching in defeat. "I have the power to change the world Dillon. And I'm too scared to use it." he replied, a sad note of defeat in his tone. "I don't want to talk about it." He whispered when Dillon opened his mouth to respond. He frowned suddenly, turning his head to look behind them out the window. "Where are we going?"

"To the power plant opening." he answered. He frowned and looked over at Ziggy. "Why?"

Ziggy looked at him with an amused smile and pointed behind them. "You were supposed to turn right about three blocks."

He blinked and turned to look at the road behind them. He turned back to Ziggy and pointed at him with a stern look. "Not a word." he ordered. Ziggy's expression lightened and he turned his head away in an effort to control his laughter as Dillon swung the car around and pulled them back on course.

--0--0--

He was a coward. He could change the world if he wanted to. He could rewrite history with a single wish, fix everything that had gone wrong. He could get rid of Venjix, rebalance the world, give his friends back everything they had lost. All it would take was a minute for him to do it. But he didn't do it. He couldn't do it. He had tried once, after the bond had formed and allowed the knowledge to unfold in his mind. But he couldn't.

He was too scared.

Ziggy bit his lip as these thoughts ran through his head, trying and failing to push them out of his head. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about this since he had learned how to do it. The thoughts had haunted his mind, leaving him unable to sleep and rarely able to focus outside of himself. And he was starting to worry the others immensely. He hated worrying people.

He sighed heavily, trying to focus on what was going on before him. But he couldn't. Everything was moving in a blur. It was starting to get annoying. He only really tuned in when Dillon moved next to him, turning away from the stage. He blinked back to complete awareness and looked over at the older man, not surprised that Dillon was the only thing he could focus on. He had admitted, at least to himself, that he liked Dillon weeks ago. Really, really, really liked him.

As he watched him, Dillon pulled out his keys and slowly, hesitantly, fit them together. Ziggy blinked in surprise, surprise that was mirrored on Dillon's own face, and glanced up at the Colonel and Mayor, watching as they pulled a very large key away and separated it. "Oh." he whispered softly, looking back at Dillon. Dillon met his gaze and smiled, his eyes speaking of happiness and a bit of disbelief. "It fits." Dillon told him quietly.

He glanced down at the keys and nodded. "I can see that." he whispered, watching as happiness slowly lit up Dillon's face. He couldn't help a smile from crossing his face, glad some things were finally starting to look up. Before he could say anything else, cries rang out and something exploded. He gasped, his muscles tensing in reaction and spun to look for the cause of the disturbance. He found it when an attack-bot moved around the corner to face them. People scattered in every direction, screaming and shouting, and his power rose in his veins, reacting to the presence of the attack-bot.

The attack-bot was bulky, with wide shoulders and an over-armored abdomen. It's head was horribly square, it's eyes glowed red hot, the the large sword it dragged behind it looked very sharp. He gulped, shifting automatically into a defensive stance and raising both hands before him, noticing Dillon do the same next to him.

"Ziggy, summon!" Scott ordered. He nodded, stepping away from the rest of the team. He knew the perfect one. He took a breath and gathered his power around him, sending a call down the link in his mind towards the Heart. He got an immediate answer. The area around him darkened to midnight and a full moon rose above him. Cherry blossom petals fell from the sky and swept across the ground. The bark of a dog caught his attention and he turned, kneeling down as the animal ran towards him and butted into his hands. He smiled and petted it briefly before looking up when the shadow of it's master fell over him. "Hello, Yojimbo." he whispered, standing again.

The swordsman nodded towards him and turned to face the attack-bot, the area going back to normal. He looked over at his teammates, finding them already engaged against the machine. He stepped back from the summons, pulling his engine cell from it's place around his neck. "RPM! Get in Gear!" he shouted. The power of Series Green rushed through him in waves as he morphed, mixing easily now with the lingering traces of energy used to summon. Once he was morphed he looked back at Yojimbo. "Focus on the attack-bot. No matter what." he ordered, having found that if the team split up in battle, the summons followed him without an order to stay.

With that said, he joined his teammates in battle. Although it was large and the sword was heavy, it was surprisingly nimble. He found himself becoming dangerously to the edge of that sword more times than he cared to think about. Several of the team had gotten hit. Even the dog dancing about beneath it's feet did not seem to slow it down.

They were all forced back as a swarm of Grinders interrupted them. Yojimbo's dog barked at them, biting and tearing through their legs as the summons itself continued to beat at the attack-bot. After that, Ziggy found he had no time to spare for the summons as Tenaya appeared, moving between attacking him and Dillon. The two of them moved as a team, slowly but surely pushing her back. Just as he pushed her down a sense of vertigo came over him and for a split second, he saw through someone else's eyes._ A blade descended towards him and he knew he wouldn't be able to move out of the way._ He gasped coming back to himself and turned on his heel, a cry of horror rushing past his lips when he saw the attack-bot's sword shred through Yojimbo.

The connection he had to the current summons snapped as both Yojimbo and the dog disappeared into waves of pyreflies and energy backlash slammed into him. He demorphed, falling to his knees as his mind shut down in shock; the backlash energy tore through his body.

Dillon watched as Ziggy collapsed, his eyes wide but blank. Instinct made him move in front of the younger man and raise the shield on his morpher. Just in time, because Tenaya had taken advantage of the situation and brought out her blaster. He waited for the energy to fade before lowering the shield and looking around for her. She was gone.

The other Rangers approached them, forming a wall between the attack-bot and them. "He okay?" Scott demanded and he immediately moved to check on Ziggy, framing the younger man's face with his hands. "He's just stunned." he answered, moving his hands to Ziggy's shoulders and shaking him back into awareness. Ziggy blinked slowly and looked up at him, his eyes still slightly dazed. "huh?" he muttered softly.

He smiled slightly at Ziggy's confused expression but it slipped away when Scott called both of their attention back to the attack-bot. He watched as his teammates took off into battle then turned back to Ziggy. "Can you fight?" he asked. Ziggy nodded and slowly stood again.

"I'm good." he replied. He turned towards the attack-bot and narrowed his eyes. "I owe that thing pain." he hissed. Dillon smirked slightly, having learned awhile ago that beneath Ziggy's naïve attitude and power-generated defenselessness lay a wicked vicious streak that they all struggled to stay out of the way of. Ziggy could take a lot of pleasure out of tearing an attack-bot apart. They shared a nod then turned and went to help their friends.

Three minutes later, they were all thrown back again. "It's armor is too thick." Scott muttered, slowly picking himself up. "Ziggy, got any new tricks up your sleeve?" he asked.

"No." He replied. "As you've pointed out so many times, fearless leader, my powers are defensive."

"Can't you summon?"

Pain and unease flickered through him. Yojimbo... "I've never summoned twice in one day." he answered instead. He didn't want another summons to go through that.

"As much as I hate cliches Zig." Dillon said. "There's a first time for everything."

He glanced over at his Guardian, feeling uncertain, then nodded unwillingly. He demorphed, still uncomfortable with summoning while morphed and extended his powers outwards. He raised both hands to the sky, the summoning circle appearing beneath his feet. He took a deep breath then spread both hands out wide, kneeling down as he did so. The area froze as three large ice crystals slammed into the ground behind him. He stood slowly, turning his head as Shiva glided elegantly past him. "Show off." he mouthed at her, earning himself an amused glance. She stopped in front of him, grasping the cloak at her throat then ripping it off and throwing it towards him. She then rested one hand on her hip, an arrogant smirk on her lips.

"Bring it." she ordered, her dark blue eyes glowing with superiority. He really hoped she knew what she was doing. The attack-bot charged her; she didn't act until it was right in front of her then vaulted smoothly over it, spinning and slamming her heel into its side in one quick move. It tumbled away then turned to face her. She frowned tightly. "Its defense is amazing. It is no wonder Yojimbo was no match for it." She glanced over at him and smiled. "But do not worry. I am better."

She raised one hand then slashed it down, turning her head away with the movement. There was a chime of bells before a large column of ice fell from the sky and flattened the attack-bot to the ground. Almost immediately, it pushed itself back to its feet, although several pieces of the armor around its shoulders fell off. Shiva frowned at it, annoyance flickering through her eyes. "You assistance in piercing through that armor will be required." She told the still morphed Rangers. They nodded and moved to support her. Ziggy stepped back and gathered his power in his hands before throwing both skyward. "Cheer." he breathed. Faint gold glows highlighted all the Rangers.

Shiva was very, but she hid all that strength beneath an even greater amount of elegance. She was every part the Goddess she claimed to be. She was quick and thought on her feet and melted as smoothly into the team as Ziggy had so long ago. It was a remarkable sight, watching her fight. She made it look like the most beautiful dance he had ever seen.

And yet, no matter what they did, the armor seemed to thick.

They struggled to push it back and finally, it retreated. Shiva went to go after it then paused and turned on her heel to walk towards Ziggy. "It will be back." she whispered. "But for now it is gone." he nodded and smiled at her. "Thank you." he whispered softly. She graced him with a rare smile and leaned forward to press a gentle, affectionate kiss to his cheek. His next few breaths came out as clouds of white. She nodded to the rest then leaped backwards, disappearing in a mass exodus of pyreflies. Once she was gone, a wave of dizziness swept over him and he swayed where he stood. Almost immediately, Dillon's arm was around his shoulders, holding him steady.

"We need to get back and figure out what to do about that attack-bot." Scott ordered. They all nodded wearily and moved to head home.

--0--0--

"So, we have nothing." Scott said at the end of the debriefing. Doctor K paused then said, "Yet."

Ziggy groaned and scrubbed at his eyes, watching as the two argued. They had been at it for over an hour, trying to find a way to pierce through the really thick armor of the attack-bot. Every so often, the twins would chime in and mention they could just blow it up. And every time the suggestion would be shot down by the Doc because the only explosion that could get through the armor would cause massive amounts of damage to the city around it. And Dillon had been distracted since they'd come back so he couldn't keep him occupied. He couldn't blame the older man. He had just figured out how to get his sister's key to work and he hadn't gotten the chance to use it.

He looked around as the two started to fight again even though they had been trying to end it. Gem and Gemma weren't even bothering to look like they were paying attention and both had the too wide smiles that meant they were going to blow something up ad no one could stop them. Next to them, Summer was watching the Doc and Scott with blank eyes and Flynn was looking at the twins with a worried gaze. Dillon was fidgeting anxiously, a death glare focused steadily on the arguing pair.

"Enough!" he shouted, throwing his hands to the side and drawing everyone's attention. They all looked shocked by his outburst. He leveled a stern glare at the two leaders. "Enough." he said again, this time low and determined. Doctor K looked about to say something but he silenced her with another stern look. "We're all tired. We need a break. Figure it out later. Go." he ordered, jerking his hand over his shoulder towards the door. The team hurried to get out, not wanting to get caught in another argument.

"Series Green." Doctor K called before he could escape himself. He turned towards her, hoping he conveyed the correct amount of weariness in his expression so she'd let him go. Although her eyes softened, she didn't let him leave. "I ran a bio-scan on Series Black after the creation of the Guardian-bond. There are two things I wish to draw your attention to."She motioned him closer and he followed eagerly this time. "The first is that the bond is creating an energy store within his body, drawing power from that Heart you mentioned, much in the same way that you do. If I had to guess, then I would say there is a very good chance that Series Black will start developing abilities of his own. The second is that this energy is interfering with the spread of the Venjix virus. It is slowing it down considerably."

He sighed in relief. "That's good." he whispered. He looked back up at her. "Right?"

She nodded and smiled slightly at him. "That is very good Series Green. Very good indeed." His smile widened and he turned, any trace of the tiredness he'd had from the battle gone. "I'll go tell him. He'll be happy." he whispered. When he came out of the lab though, the first thing he noticed was Dillon's car tearing out of the Garage. He blinked in surprise and walked over to where Summer was standing by her motorcycle, watching him leave as well. "What happened?" he asked.

She blinked and looked down at him in surprise. "Oh, I don't know. He just left. Didn't say where or why."

He bit his lip worriedly and stared at the spot where Dillon's car normally sat. "I'm sure he has his reasons. Don't worry. He can take care of himself." he whispered before he moved towards the steps and sat down heavily on them. Despite his words, he didn't move until Dillon came back.

When he finally did, Ziggy watched him for a moment as Dillon rested his head back against his seat, a worn expression on his face. He looked... lost. He stood and approached him, resting his arms against the door. "Can I help?" he asked. Dillon looked up at him and Ziggy read everything he didn't say in that look. Right now, Dillon wanted nothing more than to hand over all his burdens to Ziggy and he knew the younger man would take them. But he wouldn't do that, no matter how much he wanted to.

"No, no you can't."

Ziggy nodded grimly and reached into the car to squeeze Dillon's shoulder in reassurance. "When I can, I will." he promised. That was not a promise he planned to go back on. Dillon had always taken care of him. He was ready for it to be his turn. And he would do what ever he had to to help him. Even if he had to change the world.

Even if he had to use the Final Summoning.


	11. Chapter 11

Hymn to Fayth

Chapter 11

Everything started to go wrong when Tenaya appeared. Tenaya, his sister. Tenaya, his enemy. The girl he'd been searching for for so long and who had been in front of him all this time. The one he'd sworn to protect and hadn't. He was already tired from fighting when she arrived. Ziggy had spent an entire afternoon trying to teach him how to use the powers he was gaining being his Guardian with admittedly little success. It had made him short tempered, frustrated, and mentally exhausted. Then the alarms had gone off and the attack-bot that had given them so much trouble came back; it was then, when it had thrown Ziggy away from the team, that he had foudn the strength somehow and managed to use the technique, an armor break attack that made the entirety of his Street Saber glow red, Ziggy had taught him. That had left him physically exhausted and made it impossible to hold off his sister for long.

That was when the other Rangers, completely unknowing of what was going on, had tried to help him. A million thoughts ran through his head as he watched the light of the attack from the Road Blaster approach his sister. In the end, it wasn't a choice. She was his sister and no matter what she had done, he had to save her. He had always been a protector after all. He pushed himself in front of Tenaya, unmorphed and unprotected, but ready to give his life for her. Ziggy's voice seared through his mind, completely and utterly terrified, as the younger Ranger realized what he was doing and that he wouldn't be able to shield him in time.

"DILLON!!!!"

The first thing he registered after that was pain. The second was the ends of Tenaya's scream. He turned immediately, reaching both hands down to his sister. Pain was flying through his body but he pushed it away with fierce determination, straining against the railing. "Give me your hand!" he shouted. She looked up at him and his heart lurched at the terror in her eyes. He could read in her gaze what she wasn't saying. She didn't want to die. "Give me your hand, please!"

She stared back at him then reached up and grasped his hand. "Don't let go!" she pleaded. He struggled to pull her up, unable to get much traction against the railing. His shoulders and chest ached from where he had taken the blast and his muscles complained heavily, weariness settling over his mind from use of his Guardian powers.

Another hand laid over his, clutching Tenaya's wrist just tightly as tightly as he was. He glanced to the side, staring into Ziggy's dark, determined brown eyes in surprise. "I trust you." Ziggy whispered. He nodded slowly, suddenly knowing with absolute certainly Ziggy would follow him to the edge of the world if he had to. Together, they managed to get Tenaya securely back on her feet on the correct side of the railing.

The other rangers approached them, their helmets disappearing in a quick flash of their respective colors. "Why did you save her?" Scott demanded. He glanced over at Tenaya, who looked back at him briefly before returning her gaze to Ziggy. Ziggy himself was staring at her with such intensity that he might as well be looking into her soul. Knowing Ziggy, he probably was.

"Because, she's my sister."

Confused looks crossed everyone's expression. The twins shared a look. "But your sister is-

"-Blind." They whispered. Realization passed across Flynn's face. "She's a hybrid! She must have robotic eyes!"

He glanced over at his sister, watching as she raised one tentative hand to her eyes. The poor girl looked so very confused. Before anyone could say anything else, Ziggy reached forward and grasped the hand she'd raised, pulling it back down. He stared at her for another moment then looked over at him. A smile touched his lips. "I trust her." He whispered. Dillon felt any tension in him drain out. In the end, Ziggy's opinion was the only one that mattered.

Before anyone could say anything to that, and it was obvious they did, a tremor moved the ground beneath them. They all immediately turned to find that retched attack-bot back and big_. Just this once_ he thought _Could they not grow?_ He looked over at Tenaya as the others ran off. "I'll be back." He promised.

Whatever caused the attack-bots to grow obviously didn't do anything to repair them because its armor was still in pieces from his attack. He felt a perverse joy as he stared at the damage, especially the ugly gash right across its torso. Without that thick armor, the attack-bot was actually rather easy to disperse. The battle was over in minutes. Despite the short amount of time the battle had taken, when he jumped down from the cockpit of his Zord, Tenaya was already gone. A scream of frustration built up in his throat but he pushed it back, instead slamming his fists against the railing and cursing heavily.

"She's just scared." Ziggy whispered, having followed him down. He looked over at the younger man. Ziggy was standing a few feet away, this time completely demorphed. There was a sympathetic but understanding look on his face. Ziggy stepped closer. "We'll find her." He promised.

He sighed heavily, turning his head to look down at the ground far below him. Before he could respond, frenzied shouts from the other Rangers caught their attention. They were still in the MegaZord, this time facing a new attack-bot. It was ugly and gleamed a twisted, dirty gold in the fake sunlight. Other than that, it was completely indistinguishable from the others. After a while, they all started to blur together. Before the Rangers could attack it, it started to emit a high-pitched whine and several parts of it glowed a sickly yellow. He winced briefly at the sound, trying to figure out what it was doing.

Then Ziggy screamed.

He spun towards the younger man, staring at him in horror. Ziggy's hands were tangled in his hair, clamped down around his head, and his eyes were squeezed tightly shut. There were tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. He kept screaming, a terrible, pain-filled, tortured wail that Dillon doubted he would ever forget. He ran towards Ziggy and shook him roughly. "Ziggy!" he shouted, trying to get his attention. Ziggy just kept screaming.

The com link in his morpher crackled to life. _"Series Black, knock him out!"_ Doctor K ordered. Dillon bit his lip but couldn't think of any other options that would make Ziggy's pain go away. "Forgive me." He whispered. As gently as he could he found the pressure point at the base of Ziggy's skull and **pressed**. Ziggy's scream choked off into a brief whimper before he went limp. Dillon held him close, easily supporting the full weight of Ziggy's thin body, and ran his fingers through the curly brown hair. Once Ziggy was unconscious, the attack-bot disappeared. He glared after it, vowing he would make it pay for causing Ziggy so much pain.

--0--0--

Dillon stared down at Ziggy, fear, concern, and guilt warring for dominance in his mind. Ziggy was pale but otherwise in one piece; his breath was steady, his pulse was good. All his bones were in one piece, he wasn't bleeding, he wasn't even bruised. But he refused to wake up. He remained silent and unresponsive, sleeping the sleep of the dead. He looked up from his examination of Ziggy when he heard footsteps approaching Ziggy's room. Summer paused in the doorway, staring in at the two of them solemnly.

"This isn't your fault Dillon." Summer told him. He glanced over at her then looked back at Ziggy, his throat tightening. "I know that. But it still feels like it is." He whispered. "I'm supposed to protect him." He closed his eyes, the images of what had happened dancing through his head. Summer's voice prevented him from falling to deeply into the memory.

"You can't protect him from everything."

"But I should be able to protect him from the things that matter." He reached forward and combed his fingers through the soft curls, Ziggy's tortured scream echoing vividly in his ears. "How's the search going for Tenaya?" he asked.

"I'm sorry Dillon, but we can't find her." She told him. He pressed his lips together and sighed heavily through his nose. Things had actually started to like all right for a too brief, brilliant moment. He'd had his sister and Ziggy, the only person just as important to him as Tenaya, had given him his support. Then, just like all the times before, it had fallen apart around him. Summer kept talking, unaware but perhaps guessing what was going through his head. "Doctor K said the attack-bot used some sort of energy wave that seems to cancel out Ziggy's powers. She says he tried to fight it and that's why it hurt so much, because the two energies were attacking each other inside him. She says he's just fallen into a healing sleep. You couldn't have protected him from that, Dillon. In fact, you did the best thing you could. If you hadn't knocked him out, his body would have shut down from the pain."

He turned his head to look at her. "That doesn't make me feel any better." He whispered. She nodded. "I know. It doesn't make me feel better either." She straightened and met his stare evenly. "Now come on. I've let you indulge in feeling sorry for yourself long enough. Ziggy will be fine. Help us take down that attack-bot."

He smiled slightly at her words and stood up. Hesitating briefly, he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Ziggy's forehead, gently caressed one of his cheeks, then followed Summer down into the Garage. He pointedly ignored her amused look. The others were standing around a map of the city, several areas having been shaded out in red. Doctor K was organizing shifts to search through the rest of the city. Warmth filled him as he watched them; this was his team and they would do anything for each other. He hadn't even realized just how close they'd all become till now, when he asked them to help the person they'd been fighting just yesterday; it had felt natural.

"Thank you." He whispered.

They stopped and turned to look at him. Scott shrugged, looking highly uncomfortable. "Yeah, well, in the beginning Ziggy always said the team was family." Flynn smiled and nodded, finishing for him. "Aye an' family comes first, lad."

"And when you aren't searching for Tenaya 7, you will be rotating between sleeping and assisting me in finding a way to cancel out the energy wave that is affecting Series Green." Doctor K said, bringing them all back on topic. They all nodded but before she could break them up for each shift, a soft, blessedly familiar voice drifted through the Garage.

"I might be able to help with that."

He turned around immediately, a sigh of relief escaping him when he saw her. Tenaya was standing right next to his car, looking awkward and uncomfortable but not like she was preparing to bolt. He approached her slowly, not wanting to scare her into taking off again. She watched him come closer uneasily but didn't back up or ward him away. He paused in front of her, staring at her for a long moment then reached forward and pulled her into a tight hug before she could react. She was stiff for a moment then surrendered to the embrace all at once, her hands fisting in his jacket and her head burying into his neck as if she didn't want to let go.

But she did eventually, but only with reluctance and hesitance. Slowly, she turned to the rest of the team and, taking a deep breath, told them. "Shifter made that attack-bot. Its base code should be in the computers at the palace. I can retrieve them."

"You're not going alone. I won't let you." He told her sternly, making her look at him. There was relief and disbelief in her gaze, as if she had wanted him to say just that but hadn't dared to hope for it. Scott opened his mouth to protest but Dillon cut him off. "No, I need to be the one to go. I have Guardian powers now. I'm going with her and you can't stop me."

There was nothing anyone could say to that really and it seemed that within minutes both him and Tenaya were heading out of the Dome to Venjix's stronghold. Tenaya was silent for a long time, only speaking in order to point him in the right direction. He didn't complain; his own mind was spinning with thoughts of just how many ways this could go wrong. The adrenaline of the situation was erasing the weariness of the first use of his new powers but it left his mind spinning to quickly and his throat feeling tight.

"He's really… important to you, isn't he?" Tenaya asked suddenly, gazing out the window. He nodded in agreement, knowing that the only person she could be talking about was Ziggy. "He is. He's… something special." He glanced over at her and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Why does he trust me?"

He turned his eyes back to the endless sands in front of him and smiled softly. "Probably for the same reason he trusted me all those months ago. And he didn't even know my name back then." He caught her looking at him in consideration from the corner of his eye.

"And why did he trust you?"

He smiled wider now and shrugged. "He never did say." He shifted in order to return her stare. "You'll have to ask him yourself when we get back and get rid of that attack-bot."

"Will I get a straight answer?"

"Probably not."

He took his hand of the gearshift and held it to her. She paused for a moment then slowly entwined their fingers. He smiled again, squeezing her hand in comfort. He didn't say anything but he didn't think he needed to. That little gesture had said it for him. He was going to help her, no matter what.

--0--0--

_He was dreaming. He knew he was dreaming. And this was, perhaps, the strangest dream he had ever had. He was standing on the edges of a ruined dock, facing a large sea, and was at the back of a small crowd. Torches lined the length of the dock, all of the lit and getting brighter as the sun faded towards the horizon. Ziggy looked behind him and flinched when he saw the tattered remains of a small village. He turned back to the crowd quickly, unable to bear the destruction._

_He looked closer at the people around him. They didn't seem to realize he was there at all. Their clothing was different, unique, and all together strange. A few of them stood in small clusters of three or four but many more than that stood alone, their cheeks wet with tears. _

_His attention was caught by a young woman at the front of the crowd who was talking solemnly and quietly with an older lady who was bent over from old age. The girl was very younger, perhaps younger than even he was. Like the rest, her clothing was strange and exotic but the basic cut of it was more familiar to him than the rest although he couldn't pinpoint why. Her hair was a soft shade of brown, cut right above her shoulders; he couldn't see her face because of the thick strands._

_He watched as she turned and walked out off the dock and into the water. A few steps forward and there was a bright flash of power that made him turn his head away. When he looked back, the young woman was clutching a long staff in one hand, her bare feet ghosting on top of the water. She stopped and stood there for a long moment, then, with a deep breath, she began to dance. He watched as she moved seamlessly across the water, hypnotized in her rhythmic movements and caught in the spell she was weaving, the power she wielded spinning around her, creeping out slow tendrils that slipped beneath the water and others that reached up towards the sky. _

_As he watched, the details towards the edge of the screen bled together and resettled as something else. He didn't give it much notice, only acknowledging that it was darker, the crowd and the village was gone, but the attitude was no less solemn or grave. And the young woman was still dancing, no longer on water but cold steel. As he watched, pyreflies appeared, caught on the tendrils of power and following their course towards the sky. He watched them for a brief minute before his attention was drawn towards something else. Lined around the edges of this new area, was a group of summons. He stared at them in surprise and with wide eyes._

_Valefor, Ifrit, Ixion, Shiva, Bahamut, Yojimbo, Anima, and the Magus Sisters._

_He watched as they slowly faded away into bursts of pyreflies. There was a reason he was seeing this, he knew there was, he just couldn't figure it out. He stood there, his mind spinning with thoughts, as the girl slowly danced to an end, her staff disappearing in even more pyreflies. She turned in his direction and stared at him with tears in her dual-colored eyes. He recognized her now. Yuna, the last High Summoner of the Age of Spira, the bringer of the Eternal Calm. He stared back at her, knowing she wasn't really looking at him. This was just another one of the former Summoners memories, all of which were available to him._

_Yuna's eyes closed, and she leaned back, letting herself fall to the ground. She landed hard and, much to his surprise, burst into pyreflies. The world around him immediately disappeared into different shades of black. It was only like that for a moment before everything resettled into that empty room with the large stone in the middle of it. He sat down heavily, staring at the stone and the half-sphere that protected it blankly._

"_What's going on?" he whispered to himself, not really expecting an answer but hoping for one anyway. Nothing came. He sighed heavily and shook his head, closing his eyes against this strange little room. It felt like everything going on was connected but he was missing that made it all make sense. He was missing the purpose of knowing what everything he was being shown was for and because of that, it was useless. But as he sat there, he was overcome with the feeling that he was going to find it all out soon. _

_He was running out of time._


	12. Chapter 12

Hymn to Fayth

Chapter 12

Her heart raced in her chest and she found her breath coming in quick pants. She focused hard on calming them down so she didn't arouse suspicion. There was no denying that she had never felt so alive. It was a wonderful feeling. She had forgotten how it felt to be human. All she could remember was the empty coldness of being the machine Venjix had claimed she was, the machine she knew she wasn't. If she had the time, she would have become so overwhelmed by the experience she probably would have cried.

But she didn't have that time.

She tried not to run down the metal halls of Venjix's palace, tried not to draw any more attention to herself than was strictly necessary. No one could know, not yet. Not with Dillon sitting complacently in one of the cells. She couldn't be found out until an escape route had been secured for her brother. Not until then.

She slipped easily and undeterred into one of the main computer rooms, gathering a haughty air around her and ordering the Grinders there out. She waited until they were gone then breathed a sigh of relief. This time she did run. It took her only moments to bring up the file on the attack-bot Shifter had designed. As quickly as she could, because every moment here was just another moment to be caught, she downloaded the files and unlatched her mechanical hand, one part of her mind already separating from reality in order to guide it to Dillon.

"The coding for Shifter's attack-bot?"

She jumped at the sudden, unmistakable voice and spun around. Kilobot towered above her, his gaze as menacing as an emotionless robot's could be. She resisted the urge to gulp. She couldn't be human now. She couldn't blow everything when they were so close. She met his gaze evenly, trying to make hers as steely as possible. "Shifter is a traitor. He needs to be made an example of." She snapped at him.

"I find it interesting that you managed to bring in a Ranger without his morpher without a scratch." Kilobot told her, stepping closer to her. Her breath caught in her throat and she had to struggle not to panic. Fear tightened her throat and it was only the knowledge that her brother still wasn't safe that kept her from falling apart in terror. A shiver of alarm slipped down her spine. "Are you questioning my loyalty?" she hissed, forcing herself to step forward.

Kilobot leaned closer to her and, if he could, she had no doubt he would be glaring at her. Cold sweat broke out across the back of her neck. "I question everything about you." He told her. Her eyes widened before she could stop them. It was over. Kilobot had found her out. Had figured out that she was playing them. She wasn't getting out of here alive.

She grabbed those thoughts and shoved them as far back as she could, refusing to acknowledge them any further. It didn't matter. He hadn't discovered her missing hand yet; she could get Dillon out at least. She could help save the summoner Dillon loved so much. That would have to be enough. She closed her eyes briefly, letting a single image pass beneath her closed eyelids. The very first time she had seen Dillon and Ziggy together, the older cradling Ziggy to his chest like he was the most precious thing in the world. There was a fragile innocence to the moment. Something worth protecting. She looked back at Kilobot. "I am not afraid of you." She whispered quietly but forcibly.

The alarms activated.

She didn't bother to hide her vicious grin. "The Black Ranger, my **brother**, is already gone." She told him. "He's has the codes to take down the attack-bot and protect the summoner. You will lose this war. No. You already have." She expected the hit that followed her statement but that didn't mean she had the means to avoid it. A sharp gasp escaped her when the hit connected with her jaw, sending her sprawling to the ground. She gingerly raised a hand to touch her cheek and looked up at him, defiance burning an artificial courage through her. She stood slowly, glaring at him. "If I go down, I'm taking you with me." She told him, raising her arms into a defensive position.

Before either could do anything, she noticed a dark red glow coming from behind Kilobot. She gapped at it, making Kilobot turn around. The move allowed her to see Dillon there. Her heart froze in her chest. No! No, he should have left! As she watched, her brother charged and punched Kilobot, his closed fist giving a blast of dark red light when it connected. Kilobot dropped to the ground, electrical sparks emitting from where Dillon had punched him, bit and pieces of his metal covering falling to the ground. "What was that?" she asked quietly, watching as Dillon stood up and shook his hand out.

Dillon moved over to her quickly. "Armor Break. Guardian powers." He smiled at her slightly and lifted his hand, revealing her detachable one. "I left you here once. I'm not going to do it again. Come on."

Even as she raced after him, down the cold metal halls and out into the dead Wastelands, warmth spread through her and tears strung at her eyes. She was finally coming home.

--0--0--

It was a strange feeling, entering the Garage for the second time as an ally; the first time she ever did so knowing she wouldn't be attacked. The main building was empty and her footsteps echoed hollowing around the large, vacant area. This was a place that until very recently she had always known to be the base of the enemy. Now it wasn't. Now it was her brother's home; her home, if she got optimistic about the other Rangers' acceptance of her. It would take getting used to.

There were only two rooms in the building that were occupied. The lab and one of the Rangers' rooms. She didn't dare spare a glance for the closed door that led to the Green Ranger's room, heading for the lab the minute she got her barrings. Doctor K was inside as she had expected, typing away at her computers with a frown. The young doctor looked up when her ears finally caught the sound of her footsteps, looking surprised but pleased with her entrance. Tenaya spared a thought to consider telling her to improve the security of this place but she didn't pause to take the time. She quickly handed off the chip but didn't wait to hear what she had to say.

This time she did look up at the door leading to Ziggy's room; this time she headed for it. She would much rather be going to help her brother but Dillon had requested she stay and watch Ziggy until he awoke. A part of her wished he was already awake, recovering from the machine's last attack but he wasn't. She found him still asleep, resting peacefully in the bed, practically dead to the rest of the world. Only months of fighting against him prevented her from falling for the illusion that he was helpless.

She sat down heavily on the ground next to the bed, dropping her head into her hands and taking deep breathes. She soaked in the power pulsing from the walls, the calm and warmth that echoed not only in the room but also through the entire building. It was so different from the palace, so much more alive in so many ways. It was wonderful.

She was jerked from her pleasant daze from Ziggy shifted, a soft groan tumbling from her lips. She shot up, staring eagerly down at the younger man as his eyes slid open to look blankly up at her. "You okay?" she demanded.

His gaze flickered to her in puzzlement before awareness returned to his eyes. "They won." He told her softly. She didn't question how he knew that, frankly didn't want to know how, but she breathed a heavy sigh of relief and turned to fly out of the room. Before she could, Ziggy's hand wrapped like steel around her wrist, preventing her from leaving. Fear flashed briefly through her but she pushed it away, focusing on how Ziggy had stared at her before she had run, with compassion and understanding. He would at the least force himself to like her for the mere reason that she was Dillon's sister. She turned to look back at him. Ziggy stared back at her, his eyes earnest. "They won't let you go." He whispered. "No matter what you do, they won't let you go."

She shivered at his words, knowing somewhere deep down that, he was telling the truth. Venjix would find a way to keep her. And even if he didn't, he would never allow the Rangers to have her. 'Stay here' she read in Ziggy's gaze. 'For now, stay here. You're safe.'

For now at least.

So she stayed with him until the others arrived back. Then she helped him down the stairs and watched as he dashed into the circle of Dillon's arms. Dillon held him close, burying his face in Ziggy's mess of hair and breathing deeply. The other Rangers stood back from them, allowing them their moment with identical goofy smiles on their faces. Then Dillon raised his head to look at her and smiled, mouthed 'Thank you', and held out one hand to her. She hesitated then stepped forward and took it, allowing her brother to pull her in next to Ziggy.

The young summoner's eyes were closed in bliss and there was a wide smile on his face as he leaned his head against Dillon's shoulder. He radiated an aura of power that none of the other Rangers seemed aware of anymore and there was a sense of peacefulness around him that soothed her on the deepest level. She closed her eyes as well and surrendered herself to the peace of the moment, the warmth and safety. Gave into the colorful, beautiful world the Rangers had created.

And if she cried, just a little, in relief, then the others were polite enough not to say anything about it.

--0--0--

**Three Weeks Later**

Dillon watched his best friend with a small smile. Ziggy was laid out on the couch, a small notebook propped up on his raised knees as he wrote in it. His handwriting was small and thin and he often worried the end of the pen between his teeth. "What are you doing?" He asked.

Ziggy tilted his head back to look at him upside down and grinned widely. "Hey!" He greeted. He immediately shifted so he was facing him, dropping pen and notebook to the ground without a second thought. "Nothing really. What about you?"

He raised an eyebrow and walked forward, leaning down to snatch up the book he had dropped. "Nothing? Mind if I look?" he asked. A panicked look flashed across Ziggy's face and he reached for the notebook again. "No, you can't!" Ziggy protested. Dillon stepped back quickly, holding the book teasingly above Ziggy's searching hands and chuckling softly. Ziggy's panicked expression grew stronger the longer Dillon held it away from him and Dillon actually thought it was rather funny. "Oh come on, why can't I look?"

A deep blush started to spread across Ziggy's cheeks. "There are things in there that are personal!" he complained. He stepped back and scowled at the older, much taller man. "Give it back or I'll call Shiva." He warned. Dillon smirked.

"Should I be scared?" he asked. Ziggy nodded sharply, his dark look slightly ruined by the blush that refused to fade. He smiled and handed back the book, still chuckling to himself. Ziggy immediately snatched the book from his hands and held it tight to his chest, frowning up at him. Dillon reached forward, running his hand through Ziggy's hair in a teasing gesture, hoping it would calm him. The younger man merely batted his hand away, still looking irritated but the threat of a summons was gone.

"What is that thing anyway?" he asked as Ziggy sat back down. One of Ziggy's shoulders lifted upwards in a small shrug.

"It's a journal. I use it to keep my thoughts straight, especially back when I first became a Summoner. It's very important to me." Ziggy whispered. Dillon nodded and sat down next to him, resting his head back against the seat. Ziggy was silent for a moment then spoke up. "They stopped you know."

Dillon looked over at him. "They did? I mean, what did?"

"The visions I was having. They stopped." Ziggy whispered the words softly, like he didn't want anyone else to hear but Dillon. Dillon's eyes widened in surprise. "They did?" He asked, again, in surprise. "Since when?"

Ziggy turned his head to look at him with dark, serious eyes. "When Tenaya joined us. I was right, I think. About them not letting her go. If she'd followed you, they would have taken her. We would have lost her."

Dillon smiled slightly and wrapped an arm around Ziggy's shoulders, pulling him closer. "But we didn't. Did we?" Ziggy shook his head and laughed slightly. Almost immediately, his laughter died out though, replaced by a dark pensive look and tight, unreal smile. Ziggy wouldn't look at him. "What's wrong?" he asked, worry settling tight in his stomach.

"Tenaya has headaches." Ziggy whispered. "Really bad ones. They make her really sick sometimes. I think she nearly passed out once from the pain."

"Why didn't she tell me?" he asked. Ziggy looked up at him again. "She doesn't want to worry you."

"But she worries you?" There was disbelief in his tone now. Ziggy merely shrugged again. "I'm a non-addictive painkiller, Dillon. Of course she told me." There was nothing Dillon could say to that, so he sighed and pulled the younger man closer. "I really hope everything's going to be okay." Ziggy merely sighed and settled into his embrace with a small smile.

--0--0--

"I don't mean to interrupt,"

Flynn looked up at the words, slowly pulling his attention away from the project him and Gemma were working on to stare at the young woman in front of him. Tenaya smiled slightly at him then glanced at something over her shoulder. "I just want to confirm something. We are absolutely sure those two aren't dating… right?"

He followed her gaze to see Dillon and Ziggy nestled on the couch in the next room, Dillon's arm looped around Ziggy's shoulder. It was a pose the rest of the team had gotten used to in the last few months. Ziggy relied on Dillon for a lot of physical and sometimes even psychological support. But for Tenaya, who was still adjusting to the dynamic of the team, it would seem off. "Don't worry." He told her. "We're sure. Although a few of us wish we could pretend that they'd gotten over themselves already." He smiled slightly and shared a look with Gemma. By a few, he really meant just Scott.

"Are they that bad?" Tenaya asked.

Gemma nodded along with him. "You know," the female twin whispered, as if she was sharing a secret, "Whenever Scott complains I always get the urge to mention that if they act like that now when they haven't said anything to each other, then he should imagine how they'll act when they actually get together." He snorted in amusement and shared a brief grin with her. Looking back at Tenaya, he laughed softly at the mixture of horror and mirth on her face.

"Lovely." Tenaya replied sarcastically. She gave them another look. "Any chance I can help you with… whatever that is?" she asked. Flynn hesitated and looked down at the new small weapon him and Gemma were working on. Gemma beat him to an answer. "Actually, I think Doctor k could use more help than we do."

Tenaya stared at them for a minute. "You think?" she asked. Gemma nodded again. A small smile twitching at her lips, she turned on her heel and walked resolutely towards the lab. Flynn looked down at the young woman helping him. "Do you honestly think the Doc's gonna let her help?"

Gemma shrugged. "There's a first time for everything." She replied.

--0--0--

**One week later**

Ziggy frowned up at the packed ice ball he was holding. It dangled from a thin string that was tied around a small stick. Every time he tried to bite the strange snack, he ended up knocking it away. It was starting to get very annoying. He looked over at Dillon and Tenaya. They didn't seem to be having a problem, although Tenaya did have to hold one hand under it because the brightly colored, cherry-flavored syrup she had had added to hers was dripping off of it. So instead of merely letting the drops fall to the ground, she was having the sticky flavoring pool in her hand and make a big mess. Made complete sense to him.

He turned his attention back to his own snack and tried to eat it again. Again, he failed. "My food is being problematic." He told his friends.

Both of them looked over at him in amusement. "Most powerful person on the planet and he can't figure out a simple Ice World." Tenaya muttered and shook her head before cheerfully catching a few drops of syrup with her tongue. Ziggy shot her an annoyed glare before turning back to the ice treat.

"Hold this." Dillon ordered, handing him his own snack and taking his. Ziggy blinked at the quick switch before looking over at him. Dillon was winding the string around the stick and then pushing the packed ice carefully onto said stick. He then switched the treats again, reclaiming his own half-eaten snack. Ziggy stared down at his own for a moment before taking a careful bite. He smiled when the ice immediately melted across his tongue and proceeded to devour it. Next to him, Tenaya shook her head and whispered to herself. "I could say so many things about that, it's not even funny."

Unfortunately, Dillon heard her and jabbed her in the ribs with his elbow. She winced slightly and yelped in protest, making the small pool of syrup in her hand splash everywhere. Ziggy looked over at them in confusion but both returned to their snacks.

Later, on the way back to the Garage, Ziggy was hard pressed to ignore the whispers and stares that followed them. Every person in the city recognized them as Rangers, had for the longest time. However, it seemed like every time he went out, more and more people were recognizing him by the title of 'Summoner'. Every time, there was a bit more awe in their eyes, a bit more wonder, as if he was something otherworldly. Like he was somehow different or even better than the rest of the Rangers when barely a year ago, despite being a well-recognized member of the Ranger team, he had been practically invisible. But now, every time he entered the city, words that somehow gained a new meaning on the lips of another chased him. Whispers of summoners, and Guardians, and 'those freaky things called Aeons'.

He really didn't like it.

It was his uncomfortability with the situation and Dillon's sharp perception of his moods that allowed them both to miss the way Tenaya stumbled on the way and clasped at her head as if in great pain. They missed her waver, the daze in her eyes, and the sharp glint of red in her eyes.

--0--0--

It was late. She should be in bed but she couldn't sleep. The rest of the Garage was sound asleep, leaving her alone in the dark. She found it amazing that in a mere four weeks, the Rangers trusted her completely. It was invigorating, having that kind of unconditional trust. She rivaled in it, her brother's love, Ziggy's sweet smiles that made the whole team devoted to him, even the dull looks Doctor K sent her when she did something exceedingly stupid.

She wasn't aware she had stood until the sound of her feet meeting the steps met her ears. She was surprised for a minute then decided it probably was more than time to go to bed. Dillon didn't let her sleep in and she was going to be exhausted in the morning as it was. But, without her permission, her feet carried her past her brother's room, the room she shared, and farther down the hall. She tried to frown but found even that simple action beyond her control. Fear started to cloud her senses and tried to scream but her lips remained firmly sealed. She had absolutely no control of her body.

Her body stopped at another door and pushed it open quietly. The familiar earth tones that met her eyes sent another jolt of fear, even worse this time, through her. It was then she realized there was one of the large knives from the kitchen in hand. When had she picked that up? She struggled in vain to make her feet stop their headlong course to the figure resting on the bed. '_Please stop. No. Please. I don't want to hurt anyone anymore.'_

She stopped at the edge of the bed, staring down at the figure huddled beneath the blankets. Ziggy's familiar, warm brown eyes flickered open to stare up at her. He sat up slowly. "Tenaya? Is something wrong?" he asked groggily.

She wanted to tell him, yell at him, that yes something was very wrong. She wanted to yell to him to run, run, scream, shout, tell the entire building that something was wrong. The only thing that happened was her grip tightened around the handle of the knife. Something in Ziggy's eyes shifted and then they widened and his mouth opened. The first syllable of her brother's name escaped before the knife whipped through his throat and stained her world red.

--0--0--

Doctor K looked up when footsteps met her ears. She frowned; it couldn't be any later than five in the morning. None of the Rangers were up any earlier then eight unless Venjix attacked. Tenaya stumbled into the lab then. She was pale and shaking, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. Her hair hung limply around her face and there were tears still falling down her cheeks. She stood up quickly in surprise and walked towards her. "Tenaya? Is everything alright?" she asked quietly.

Tenaya surged forward suddenly to bury into the small girl's arms, small hiccups shaking her body. Doctor K stiffened in surprise, her eyes going wide. She didn't move forward but she didn't move away either. She just stood there, Tenaya wrapped around her small form and hot tears seeping through the thick material of her coat. Then, slowly, she reached forward and curled her arms around Tenaya. Her eyes were still wide and all the muscles in her back were tense but she held her all the same.

Finally, Tenaya pulled back and looked at her with red-rimmed, wild eyes. "I'm in trouble." She whispered. "I'm in so much trouble."

"Slow down." K ordered. "What's wrong?"

"I-I had a… a horrible dream. I ki-…I me-mean, Ziggy, I… What if…there-there's a virus in me? Li-like in Dil-Dillon?"

She held Tenaya back by her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "Calm down and we can find out." As Tenaya tried to take as many deep, steady breathes as she could, Doctor k brought up the detection system for the virus. Then she looked back up at Tenaya. She searched through a few of her drawers before finding a small handkerchief she'd thrown in once when she'd first set it up. With it in hand, she walked forward and carefully tilted Tenaya's face towards her. With a gentleness she had once thought was beyond her, she rubbed away the taller girl's tears as best she could. Once that was done, she led Tenaya slowly through the tests.

Even though she didn't say anything when she got the results, she was fairly sure the expression of despair on her face told Tenaya all she needed to know.

--0--0--

"How is she?" Dillon demanded, staring sadly into the lab.

"I've sedated her for now. I'm afraid she didn't take the news very well." Doctor k replied calmly, although she had to resist the urge to bite her lip in worry, a habit she feared she had picked up from watching her Rangers do it several times.

Ziggy glanced at Dillon, then the lab, then back to her. "How long does she have?" he asked.

"Well, her implants were fairly extensive from the beginning. And that virus has been spreading through her body for quite a while now. I have no idea how they even got it in her. But not long."

Dillon turned to gaze at Ziggy. "Can you help her? Like you did with me?"

Ziggy shook his head. "No, it doesn't work like that. I can't force a Guardian bond. I don't know how." He replied, regret coloring his tone.

"What do you mean you don't know how?" Dillon asked. "The Bond links to you! I also very clearly remember you starting the ritual that set up ours!"

"It's not just a bunch of words Dillon. There are other components that are required. Things you can't force or shape in just a month! If it was that simple Dillon, I would have had a Guardian long before you came along!"

"It wouldn't matter!" K cut in before the two could truly get into their first real argument. "She's that far gone. I don't think there's much we can do by now."

"What do you suggest we do do then?" Dillon asked scathingly, turning his back to Ziggy. The younger man averted his gaze with a wince. She met Dillon's eyes flatly. "Pray." She replied. "It's all you can do."

--0--0--

**One week later**

Ziggy stared around the broken pieces of the lab in sadness. Scott was slowly helping Doctor K back to her feet while the twins mournfully picked up the remains of the weapon the Doc and Tenaya had been working on. Flynn and Summer were hurriedly using the last main computer to search the city for the now renegade Tenaya. He turned his attention back to the man lying on the table next to him. Dillon was out-cold from the fight with his sister. He had tried to only stop her, not bring her down and it had hurt him. He reached forward and ran his hand through Dillon's hair in regret.

He hadn't been able to save Tenaya after all.

"She's in there somewhere." K whispered suddenly. She looked over at him, cradling an injured arm to her chest. "When she ran, she was crying. She said she was sorry. She's just scared. Really scared." Doctor k looked around at her destroyed lab and then sadly at the weapon she had worked so hard on with Tenaya. "She didn't do anything wrong." She finished. Scott sighed equally sadly and helped her to her chair. Every time she rested weight a little too hard on her left ankle, a pained whimper escaped her throat.

Ziggy felt suddenly angry. Angry at everything. At fate, at his powers, at his inability to save anyone. Not even Tenaya. He was angry at Venjix for ruining everything, angry at Tenaya for running instead of staying and facing the destruction she'd wrought and letting them help her, and angry at everyone that would now mark her as an enemy.

It was the kind of anger that had first allowed him to summon Anima.

He stepped away from Dillon and walked towards the desk that somehow still stood in the center of the destroyed room. "Stay here." He ordered Scott, staring him dead in the eye. "Train. Defend the city. Save the world."

It was an echo of the words he'd first used when he'd met Dillon. This time there was no joke or lightness to them. And the dark, frightening anger in his eyes prevented anyone from arguing with him. He reached across the desk and grabbed the blaster resting there. The blaster that had once been Tenaya's before she had given it up to them in a peace offering when she had joined them. With it in hand, he walked carefully through the ruins. The rest of the Garage was still remarkably untouched.

"What are you going to do?" Doctor K demanded. He turned to look at them over his shoulder. His violent gaze made them shrink back in startled terror. Finally, he looked back at Dillon's silent form. His promise from earlier floated through his head. For too long, Dillon had protected him. No more.

Now it was his turn.

"I don't know. But someone is going to pay for this. So just stay the hell out of my way."


	13. Chapter 13

Hymn to Fayth

Chapter 13

His head was killing him. That was the first thing Dillon was aware of when he woke up. He groaned and slowly levered himself up into a sitting position, wearily looking around. The lab was trashed. He swallowed heavily, looking around for a familiar head of messy brown hair. Nothing. He tried not to panic but he was starting to get the feeling that Ziggy was planning to do something very stupid. "Where's Ziggy?" he demanded, pushing the words past the lump in his throat and focusing on the Rangers scattered around the room.

They looked up at him in surprise followed by relief. "Oh thank god." Summer whispered, sounding all to calm considering that Ziggy wasn't here. Ziggy was always here when something happened to him; he was the first thing Dillon saw when he came around after being knocked out in battle. Ziggy should be here and he wasn't. He tried to stand up, stumbled briefly and had to grasp at the table he'd been laying on. "Where's Ziggy?" he asked again.

They all looked at each other with trepidation before Doctor K spoke up from where she was sitting in the corner, one arm cradled haphazardly in a sling. "He went after Tenaya. He took her blaster." It took a minute for the meaning of those words to register. Ziggy… has Tenaya's blaster? Why did he have that? Then, realization dawned.

Ears ringing, balance screwed, and head pounding, he forced himself to head to the door. "Where are you going?" Scott demanded.

"I gotta find him." Was his only answer.

--0--0--

Tenaya slowed to a stop in front of the city walls, placing her hands on her knees and trying to calm her breathing. Tears cascaded down her cheeks and sobs still pushed past her lips. She ruined it, ruined everything! And then she'd made it worse by running. She's known when she'd run that it was a bad idea but she couldn't handle the look of pain on K's face, the blood pouring down her arm, and she couldn't handle seeing her brother lying there not moving. "Damn it." She whispered to herself, falling to her knees. Ziggy had been right. Venjix was never going to let her go.

"What a mess."

She jerked at the voice and spun around to see Ziggy staring at her calmly but without his usual gentleness. His eyes had gone hard and cold. Everything in her suddenly wanted to start running again when she saw the cold fury on his face. "Ziggy?" she whispered.

"Tenaya." He said back, his tone blank. "You destroyed the lab." He told her, as if he thought she didn't know. She gulped thickly and looked down for a long moment, fighting tears. When she looked back up at him, she noticed a blaster, her blaster, being held tightly in his grip. She stood slowly, choking back more tears and looked him dead in the eyes. She held her arms out to her sides. "Go on." She whispered. "Shoot me. Before I hurt someone else."

Venjix wouldn't let her go. Not ever. There was no way she would ever get to have her own life.

"Don't you even." He warned her, his voice gaining a hard edge. She jerked back, stumbling away a few steps. "You think you die and everything's going to be sugar and rainbows?!" He demanded. She flinched again, more tears stinging at her eyes. Finally, she looked back at him. "What do you want from me?" She demanded. "If I can't live and I can't die then what am I supposed to do?!"

His eyes stared back at her, merciless and without pity. "The hardest thing in this world, Tenaya, is to live in it." he replied. "You wanted this. You wanted to be human. And being human, you screw up, and you either face it or you run. Facing things isn't easy but if you run, you will always be running."

She stared at him for a long time, looking for some sense of mercy in his eyes, waiting for him to tell her what to do. She didn't know what to do anymore. Then suddenly, Ziggy jerked his head to the side, his eyes narrowing on something to her left, and he raised the blaster in his hand. She turned automatically to where he was facing and got a good look at Kilobot before things descended into a flurry of blaster shots and chaos. The last thing she noticed was that it felt like a bomb had gone off before everything went black.

Ziggy hit the ground hard, his head smacking against the ground with a sickening crack. He winced, bright white light flashing behind his eyes and flaring across his other senses. His power awoke suddenly, spinning around him and encasing his mind in warmth. And then came the sweeping, unsettling displacement of a vision.

--0--0--

_It felt like all the color had been drained from the Garage, leaving it dull and empty. The other Rangers moved sluggishly, their eyes always on the ground, and a defeated hunch to their shoulders. Gemma was crying silently in the corner but no one went to her, not her brother, not even Flynn. The original three Rangers were sitting quietly in the kitchen, Summer nursing a cup of coffee, and Flynn with his head buried in his arms. It was dark and sad, depressing, and it seemed like everyone was afraid to move very fast or speak too loudly, when they did speak at all._

_The world melted, replaced by Ziggy's room. Half-filled boxes were placed everywhere. The room felt empty and lifeless, the warm colors gone and the tokens of his time on the team missing. Dillon stood near the small desk in the room, looking down at an open notebook. There was a pained expression on his face. Suddenly, he blurred into movement, grabbing the notebook and throwing it violently at the far wall. Papers fell free of the bindings, scattering across the floor as Dillon collapsed to his knees, sobs tearing themselves from his throat. He curled up, burying his face into his arms, and tried to block out the emptiness of the room, the silence._

_Things change then, again, and suddenly Ziggy is no longer just a silent, invisible spectator who has to watch from a distance as his friends fall apart. Suddenly he is a part of the scene, feeling everything, and there are warm, dry lips against his own and familiar arms wrapped across his waist, a single hand pressed into the curve of his back. Ziggy sighed then and gave in, trying to focus on the warmth and passion, on the smell of cologne and machinery that always ends up mixed into Dillon's clothes, and not on how bittersweet this feels. Because it does feel bittersweet. Bittersweet and heart-breaking._

_It feels like goodbye._

--0--0--

Ziggy came to a few seconds later, his ears still ringing from the hit that sent him crashing and his head complaining something vicious. He groaned and squinted upwards, Dillon's familiar brown eyes swimming into view. He blinked heavily up at the older man, managing to just make out Dillon shouting at him worriedly through the buzzing in his ears. He struggled for a minute with the lingering feeling of displacement because he can still feel Dillon's lips against his, overlapped with the present feel of hands running through his hair, checking for injuries. He winced when they brushed against the knot forming on his skull and reached up to brush Dillon's hands away. "Fine." He complained, pitching his voice louder than was probably necessary in order to hear himself. "I'm fine."

Dillon's hands fell from his hair, only to pull him close and crush him against his chest. The older man muttered something softly into his ear that he couldn't quite make out and, although it probably wouldn't reassure Dillon of his health any, he had to ask him, "What is that ringing sound?"

Dillon pulled back again and framed his face in his hands, looking at him with wide, fearful eyes. "You're okay, right? You're just fine?" He demanded desperately. He sounded like he thought he could heal all of Ziggy's injuries just by fussing over him enough. Ziggy didn't answer, just stared up at Dillon equally desperately, because as much as he could still feel that kiss, he can also see Dillon broken into pieces, sobbing brokenly in the empty confines of his room. The memory of it, if it's possible to have a memory of the future, made tears pour down his own cheeks. Dillon panicked, constantly asking him what was wrong, and all he could do was bury his head in Dillon's chest.

"They're back." He finally replied brokenly. "The visions are back."

--0--0--

They didn't have their meeting in the lab, none of them able to look at the wreckage so they gathered in the kitchen. Ziggy didn't have a concussion, thankfully, and his ears didn't ring anymore. About the only, serious injury among them was K's broken arm and he didn't let her remove it from his lab as he carefully used his powers to piece the shattered bones back together. Every so often, Summer would sniffle slightly, like she was fighting to keep back tears, and the sound tore through his heart. No one spoke.

Ziggy glanced at Dillon briefly, pressing his lips together in pain. Dillon seemed unwilling to look any of them, gazing instead at his clasped hands. Pain radiated from him in waves. Ziggy couldn't look at him for long either, the vision of Dillon in tears starting to greatly eclipse the one of the kiss in his mind. He looked away finally, turning his attention back to the hand in his lap. The bones were fixed, which was good because Ziggy doubted he could have kept his attention on the healing spell any longer with the thoughts running through his head.

He'd been wrong, he decided. No one, not even him, could change the future. It was as set in stone as the past and even if the circumstances changed, the results wouldn't. Avoiding the calamity that had been crashing towards them since Dillon had arrived at Corinth was impossible. He knew what he had to do in order to get Dillon's slight smile back on his face.

"I think I can still save her." He muttered softly. Everyone turned to look at him in surprise and for the first time since they'd learned about the virus in Tenaya, a glint of hope appeared in Dillon's eyes. That decided Ziggy. The hard knot of fear that had existed in the pit of his stomach since he had learned of the technique shifted into cold determination. "It's an old technique, very powerful. It actually marked an end to a Summoner's pilgrimage and they earned the title High Summoner. I… didn't want to use it before because I was afraid to. It's dangerous." He paused then and looked up at them, trying to put as much steel into his voice as possible so no one would question him. He couldn't lie very well at all. "But I can do it."

"What is it?" Dillon asked, his eyes and voice reflecting his relief and his gratitude. Ziggy gulped and whispered out the name of the spell that would burn him dry and lead him to his death. No Summoner that had ever used it had survived.

"Final Summoning."

--0--0--

Ziggy stared silently down at the notebook resting on the desk in his room, rereading his latest and last entry in it. It would not take the place of a proper apology or even a proper explanation but it was better than leaving everyone with no answers at all. Still, it didn't feel right. He felt like he owed it to Dillon, to all of them, to explain that he would not be coming back with them once they found Tenaya. But he couldn't. No matter how much Dillon wanted to save his sister, he wouldn't let Ziggy go. And if he chose Ziggy over Tenaya, he would always hate himself for it, just a little, no matter how much he loved Ziggy. Ziggy would never, could never, ask Dillon to choose him over Tenaya.

"Ziggy?" Dillon's voice asked from outside his door. Ziggy immediately jerked into action, flipping his notebook to a random page so his guilty confession of the truth wasn't visible and turned as Dillon entered his room, hoping his guilt didn't show in his expression. If it did, Dillon didn't say anything. He merely moved over and sat down heavily on his bed. "Will this really work?" he asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. It'll work. Don't worry." He whispered. They had all talked it over. In the morning, Ziggy would use his rarely used ability to dream-see in order to find Tenaya. Then they'd go after her and hope that Ziggy knew what he was doing. For them, the plan was that he all went home as a big, happy family. For Ziggy, the plan was that he went back in a body bag.

Dillon pulled out his pocket watch and ran his fingers over it sadly. "She loved this thing you know? Hated her own song, but she loved the watch." He told him. Ziggy stood from his chair and knelt down before him. "You're going to get her back, Dillon." He promised. "I'll get her back." Dillon met his eyes and smiled softly.

"I know. I trust you Ziggy." Dillon told him.

Ziggy felt his heart break at the words, knowing his was betraying that trust with his course of action, and gathered the older man to him, pulling him into the tightest hug he could manage because when Dillon's face was buried in his hair, he couldn't see the tears building in his eyes. He didn't know how long they sat like that but eventually Dillon slowly pulled away and said he was going to bed and walked tiredly out of the room. Ziggy let him walk out of the room, struggling against the urge to call the man back and confess everything. He couldn't do that though, even if it was one of the hardest things he'd ever done.

Dillon paused just before closing the door behind him and looked back at him. "Hey Ziggy. Smile, okay?" he requested. Ziggy chuckled softly and smiled obediently at the request, watching a small smile drift across Dillon's own features. They both muttered good nights before Dillon left. Then Ziggy was alone.

Slowly he stood up and walked over to his desk again, reading over the entry he'd written there briefly. It was his entry on the origin of the summons. He paused, a brief image of Dillon's pocket watch appearing in his mind. His breath caught in his throat in surprise and awe and slowly, a real smile worked its way across his face. He couldn't stop his visions from coming true, but he could change the circumstances. He flipped back to his new entry and wrote done one more sentence before signing it and closing it, heading to bed.

--0--0--

In the end, finding Tenaya was actually easy. And getting to her would be even easier. Venjix wanted them to go after her was the decision everyone reached. Once again, Venjix was underestimating them. Whatever defenses he put in the way they would tear through in order to get Tenaya back. He underestimated Ziggy again, right at the point when he held the power to rewrite the universe. Ziggy watched as his teammates slowly packed whatever they thought they'd need into their cars. His eyes flickered up to where Dillon was slowly walking down the stairs, not moving his gaze from the watch in his hands. Ziggy straightened and walked over to him. He needed that watch.

He stopped before Dillon, waiting for the older man to look up at him. Once Dillon had, he smiled widely. "Don't worry. Everything's going to turn out alright." He promised, feeling happy that it was the truth when he said it this time. He didn't plan to die now. He had a real plan. "We'll save Tenaya."

Dillon smiled at him softly. "I know." He made to move around the younger man then stopped when Ziggy merely stepped in front of him again. At Dillon's raised eyebrow, Ziggy motioned to the watch in his hands. "May I?" he requested. Dillon paused then nodded and handed him the watch. Ziggy smiled softly and accepted it, forcing Dillon to lean towards him so he could use the key as well. There was a small, amused glint in Dillon's eyes as the tune started to play.

Ziggy closed his eyes and let the tune wash over him for a few minutes. Then he asked, his whispered a wistful whisper. "Did we ever… figure out what song this was?"

"No." Was his answer, Dillon's voice as soft as his was. He could feel Dillon's breath ghosting across his face they were so close. This moment, Ziggy realized, represented what his life had come down to these last few months; the soft lullaby, Dillon, and the spicy scent of cologne and machinery that was always threaded into Dillon's clothes, no matter how many times they were washed. He nodded to himself. "Then, can I name it?" he requested.

Dillon agreed calmly, obviously having no problem with it. Ziggy smiled and said, "Then let's call it our 'Hymn to Fayth'." Dillon smiled softly back at him, eyes warm and gentle, and Ziggy had to tell him the truth, had to let him know that the plan wasn't what he expected. "Things are going to get worse before they get better Dillon." He whispered, not willing to let the others hear. If it was just them then Dillon might, _might_, differ to his judgment. Dillon's brow furrowed in confusion and his mouth opened to ask him a question but Ziggy cut him off. "That's why, I need you to trust that I know what I'm doing. Things will get better."

Dillon still looked like he might argue, still force out the truth, so Ziggy gave into the urge he'd had for months now and kissed him. It wasn't that hard, they were so close to each other already. He only had to lean up just a little to catch his lips, move one of his hands to clutch desperately at Dillon's jacket, the other hand tight around the watch. Dillon was tense against him for only a moment before kissing back, one of his hands burying itself into his hair while the other fell to the small of his back, pulling him closer. Dillon's lips were warm and chapped, surprisingly soft and gentle against his own like he was afraid he might break Ziggy.

Ziggy felt warm and wanted and the kiss almost made him want to rethink his plans, to admit the whole truth of thing to Dillon so it wouldn't feel like he was somehow betraying his trust. At the same time though, the kiss was still bittersweet because it hurt that it was taking this huge lie to give him the courage to do it. And, despite the fact that he planned to survive this, the kiss still felt like a goodbye.

Dillon pulled away slowly, immediately missing the soft warmth of Ziggy's lips to gaze at the younger man in surprise. He knew that Ziggy had feelings for him, not even an idiot could mistaken the way Ziggy looked at him, but he had always thought him just a tad too shy to actually act on them. And while Dillon himself was far from shy about his feelings for the younger man, it had always felt like Ziggy was some sort of seventh seal that would cause the world to fall apart if he was touched. It felt like Ziggy was something sacred and otherworldly and no one, especially not _him_, should be able to have him.

Ziggy just met his gaze though. His eyes were disconcerting, dark and apologetic. Dillon couldn't help but remember last night, the brief flashes of guilt and agony in Ziggy's expressive features. He meant to ask him this morning but when he'd woken up Ziggy has been bright and cheerful, bright brown eyes clear of anything but determination and Dillon found all of his doubts and worries leave him after one look at the younger man.

He couldn't ask him this time either, because Scott called them, saying it was time to go with a smug smile on his face and Dillon spent the next few minutes trading insults with the Red Ranger and fighting not to blush. The easy familiarity of it all eased his worries and he never did notice the dangerous glint in Ziggy's eyes when he turned to get into the car. He never noticed Ziggy's pale hand secret away his watch into one of his pockets.

Then they were leaving and it was too late for questions or second-guessing. He merely reached across the stick shift and grasped Ziggy's hand, taking comfort in the warm, tight grasp and sweet smile Ziggy gave him. Although Dillon didn't know it then, they were riding to their destinies…and Ziggy's death.


	14. Chapter 14

Hymn to Fayth

Chapter 14

The Heart of Memories was a dark, cold realm Ziggy had gotten used to over the last two years of his life. It had always been a gentle descent towards the sphere. At least until the Final Summoning has burnt him dry and sent him crashing towards the Heart to merge with the memories of the former Summoners. He was falling fast, at a rate he couldn't control, and he was too tired to care. He was quickly approaching the point of no return and the Heart was wrapping him in the siren song he had ignored for so long to keep him complacent. It would be so easy to just let go and fall into oblivion.

Feeling echoed down to him from his weak link to his body, telling him of something cold splashing against his cheek and a voice pleading with him. "Ziggy! Ziggy, please! Don't do this to me!"

Dillon.

The spell keeping him docile broke. He grabbed onto the feelings drifting to him from life, using them as an anchor to slow his fall towards death. He still kept falling though, couldn't make himself stop. He gathered what little power he still had after the Final Summoning, formed it into the necessary spell he only half-remembered at this point in his mind, then let it go to tear him apart. The slow tune of his Hymn to Fayth spun around his head as his soul split in half, one part sealing away, deep asleep. The other part slammed into the Heart Wall…

But didn't fall in.

-0-0-

**Just Before**

Tension hung heavily in the air as the team moved quickly through the Venjix facility. They'd been right; this was almost way too easy. It was a trap, they all knew it. But they kept walking forward. They were going to get Tenaya out of here if it was the last thing they did. No one said a word as they worked their way through the compound, keeping an eye out for any machines. They didn't find any. The place was practically deserted.

Ziggy grabbed Dillon's arm when they past a side hallway, tugging him towards it. The two shared a look briefly before Dillon nodded and moved in front of him, taking the lead. The others followed him. After a few minutes, they entered a wide room, broken and disrepaired Grinders lining the walls. Other bits of machinery were placed sporadically around the place. "Looks like a repair facility." Summer whispered. Dillon gasped suddenly, jerking forward. "Tenaya!"

Ziggy reacted automatically, grabbing Dillon's arm again and pulling him back before he could walk into something dangerous. Dillon looked back at him with pleading eyes but he shook his head solemnly before turning to look at the young woman on the table unconscious. Tenaya was laid out on one of the tables, her long black hair fanned out around her. She had been changed into a long white gown and she was barefoot. "Careful. We both know this isn't right." Ziggy whispered.

"Smart boy." A low voice muttered. Everyone tensed automatically and started to look around. Ziggy's eyes narrowed, focusing on the dark shaped half-hidden in the shadows. "Kilobot." He muttered. The other Rangers shifted to face the machines. Dillon stepped in front of him protectively. Ziggy watched the machine carefully, his eyes flickering occasionally to Tenaya, sleeping peacefully on the table. Even from here though, he could feel the presence of the Venjix virus in her, building steadily and destroying more and more of what made her, her. He had to act now.

"Get the thing out of here." He hissed to Dillon, nodding his head at Kilobot. Dillon glanced back at him. "I'm not leaving you alone."

He gave the older man a stern look. "I wasn't going to let you be anywhere near when I used the Final Summoning anyway. It's too dangerous; there's too much backlash energy. Just get out of here." He ordered. Dillon gave him a disbelieving look. Ziggy glared and hardened his tone. "Get out of here."

Dillon turned towards him to argue and Kilobot attacked. Ziggy immediately threw up a barrier, shifting himself away from the group carefully. The others morphed quickly; he didn't. He kept backing up, moving closer towards Tenaya. "Get out of here." He repeated, his voice taking on the tone of a command. They all glanced at him, obviously unsure about leaving him but Ziggy was having none of it. He glared at them harshly, daring any of them to argue with him. They didn't.

It took a few moments, Kilobot was decidedly stubborn, but they managed to herd the attack-bot out of the repair room. Ziggy closed his eyes once they were gone, spreading out his senses to check the rest of the room but found himself alone except for the unconscious Tenaya. He gathered his power around him, focusing his intent clear in his mind so he didn't make any mistakes. The air chilled suddenly and he didn't have to open his eyes to know who was suddenly standing beside him. "Shiva." He greeted softly.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked quietly. "There's no turning back once you begin." He didn't say anything in response, just nodded his head resolutely. He heard her sigh and felt her hand move through his hair affectionately, a bite of bitterness coating the movement. "Alright." She whispered. "You will always be my favorite Ziggy Grover."

He sighed himself and opened his eyes to stare at his friend. He seemed determined to break the hearts of everyone close to him now. "Don't worry. Everything will be okay. Just wait." She gave him a look that said she didn't believe him. But she nodded all the same and stepped away from him. Ziggy took a deep breath, mentally steeling himself for what he was about to do, and gathered his power around him. Then it began. He pushed his hands forward. The circle of summoning appeared beneath his feet. Then another above him, then one on every side. Then more still. For every one that appeared he felt more and more of his energy being stripped away; more and more he started to fall away from the warmth and light, consumed by the spell he was shaping.

The power grew and grew till it ran like wildfire through him, burning him, and forget whatever else he'd felt, this **hurt**! A slow sound built in the back of his head, playing again and again. He latched onto that sound, feeling his body start to go numb but knowing he couldn't quit just yet. Not yet. He still had to save her. He focused on that sound, the soft, repeating hymn, and used it as a grounding point as the final part of the spell approached.

All the power he was gathering, the pure essence of his beloved summons, gathered into a small sphere in the middle of his palms, glowing so brightly it lacked color. He took a deep, but shaky, breath, closing his eyes as reality settled around him. He couldn't undo it now. Doing so would kill him and Tenaya. Right now, he had the power to change the world.

But at such a cost...

He clutched at the sphere of power in his hands, felt like grow and change shape. A pure white staff appeared in his hands, a glowing green emerald wrapped in silver at the top. The entire staff hummed with his power. He closed his eyes to the rest of the world and… he wished. He spun the staff around him in circles, the last summoning circle appearing beneath his feet, coating the entire floor in bright white light. Only one summons responded to this circle. Bahamut, the oldest summons of them all, who only responded to the power of the Final Summoning now. The only summons with the power to accomplish the wish-granting affect the Final Summoning had become after all this time.

The power exploded outward as Bahamut answered his call and his wish. It spun around him in waves, burning him alive with its sheer brilliance. Ziggy was well past the point of pain by now, feeling numb wherever the power touched him. He was going into shock, he realized belatedly. It would get him through the pain that often caused the death of all the other Summoners. However, he would fall to what had doomed the rest of them; the complete loss of power this burnout would cause; his body had become too dependent on his power to survive without it.

That's when he started to fall.

-0-0-

Dillon knew the moment Ziggy did it. He felt the power crash through him, just a small percentage of what Ziggy was going through, and it sent him to his knees. Then the others felt it. The spell crashed through the entire building in bright white waves that knocked everyone off their feet and temporarily blinded them. It was minutes before it was finally over. Slowly they all pushed themselves to their feet. They were all shaky and unmorphed and across from them Kilobot looked like he was sparking in several places. Kilobot looked at them in an almost panicked fashion before he fled.

Scott looked like he was going to go after the machine but the idea never crossed Dillon's mind. He only had one thought in his head. He turned immediately towards the repair room, intent on checking on Ziggy and Tenaya. He didn't get far before the whole world shifted sideways and turned to shades of gray. He fell to his knees, a cold band wrapping tight around his heart and squeezing the air from his lungs. He gasped, struggling against the feeling, a surge of panic blooming in the pit of his stomach for some reason. He came back to himself after a long moment to find the team gathered around him, looking down at him in concern.

He burst to his feet, ran past his teammates, and skidded to a halt in the room. Everything looked like it was all right; the last tendrils of Ziggy's spell still floated over the ground. Ziggy stood in the middle of it all, a staff held in one hand. After to the side, Tenaya was slowly sitting up, looking around with dull, confused eyes. "Ziggy?" he asked. The young man turned to look at him with empty eyes that sent a chill down his spine. The staff slipped from Ziggy's grip to clatter across the floor, echoing around the room forebodingly.

Ziggy collapsed.

"Ziggy!" He shouted. He ran forward and gathered the younger man up into his arms. Ziggy felt cold, his whole body chilled to the bone, and Dillon didn't think that was a good thing. He shook the boy's shoulders desperately. "Ziggy, come on. Wake up."

Ziggy was alright. He had to be alright. He had fainted before from the over-use of his powers and he had always been just fine after he had finally woken up. He would be fine this time to. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong. No matter how much he shook him, Ziggy didn't respond, didn't mutter or shift. Didn't _breathe_.

The realization was like a punch to the gut. He froze in horror, staring down at Ziggy. The boy was so pale now, his lips turning blue, and he was too cold, deathly cold. He choked, trying not to think the idea that was slowly forming in his head and settling heavily in the pit of his stomach. "No." He breathed. "No, no, no, no, no, no." His stuttered out slowly, his eyes stinging, and he slowly lowered his hand to press it against Ziggy's chest. He waited for the comforting beat of Ziggy's heart but found… nothing.

The other Rangers burst into the room then, half going to help Tenaya slowly stumbling to his feet, the other half coming towards him. "Dillon, what's wrong?" Summer asked, her voice sounding like it was far away. Dillon barely noticed any of them. "Ziggy… he's…" He trailed off painfully, the end of his sentence getting stuck in his throat. Dead. "No." No, he couldn't accept that. He shook his head in denial, moving both hands back up to frame Ziggy's face. The first tear fell then, splashing against Ziggy's cheek. "Ziggy! Ziggy please! Don't do this to me!" His voice cracked harshly. "Wake up. _Please,_ wake up."

"He won't wake up." A soft voice whispered. He looked up slowly, tearing his gaze away from Ziggy's empty expression. Shiva stood above them, gazing at Ziggy with dark, sad eyes. "He won't ever wake up." Those words, coming from her lips, were final. Even Dillon, as deep in denial as he was trying to bury himself, could sense that. He closed his eyes and lowered his head, the tears starting to come faster now. He didn't see it, but Shiva turned her sharp gaze onto him. "No Summoner has ever used the Final Summoning and survived. Ziggy was aware of this."

Dillon jerked his head back up to gaze at her in shock. "You mean, he knew he'd…?"

"Yes. He did. That's why he was so scared to use it."

"Why?" Dillon demanded, his voice choked with emotion. He looked up at her pleadingly, unsure what he was asking of her, tears pouring down his face. "Why would he do this? Knowing he would…? Why would he leave me?"

"Why?" Shiva repeated. She lifted her eyes from him to stare at Tenaya. Tenaya stared back, looking shell-shocked and horrified at what was going on around her. Shiva returned her gaze to Dillon. "Because he wanted to see you smile again." Shiva answered at last. "Because you wanted your sister back and he would have given you the world if he thought it would have made you happy."

Dillon stared up at her in shock, his heart freezing slowly in his chest. It took a long time for the true meaning of her words to fully register. When it did, he felt himself start to hyperventilate. He started to shake his head in disbelief and denial. Around him, the truth of what was happening was starting to set in for the rest of his team as aborted and choked sobs started to echo through the room. Dillon dropped his gaze down to Ziggy's white face as more tears started to flow down his cheeks. "I didn't…I never…" He struggled with his sobs, pulling Ziggy close and burying his head in Ziggy's curls. "I _never _wanted this!" He finally got out painfully. He started to rock slowly, Ziggy's lifeless body held close to his chest.

Unnoticed, Dillon's watched started to glow a soft white light within the pocket of Ziggy's jeans.


	15. Chapter 15

Hymn to Fayth

Chapter 15

It felt like all the color had been drained from the Garage, leaving it dull and empty. Ziggy's laughter, which had always echoed through the building even when he was gone, had disappeared. The other Rangers moved sluggishly, their eyes always on the ground, and a defeated hunch to their shoulders. Gemma was crying silently in the corner but no one went to her, not her brother, not even Flynn. The original three Rangers were sitting quietly in the kitchen, Summer nursing a cup of coffee, and Flynn with his head buried in his arms. Tenaya was lying on the couch, one arm thrown over her eyes and muffed sobs echoing out. She hadn't moved from that spot since she'd arrived back half-a-day ago. It was dark and sad, depressing, and it seemed like everyone was afraid to move very fast or speak too loudly, when they did speak at all.

Doctor K observed it all from her place near the door to her lab. She had very little details about what had happened during the mission but in the end, all she really needed to know was that one of her Rangers, one of her closest friends, was dead. The hows and whys, didn't really matter anymore. She turned away from her broken team and entered her lab. The debris had been cleared away while they were gone and she had managed to get a few computers working again. The table Dillon had been resting on yesterday was now occupied by Ziggy's body. She had talked to Colonel Truman; he would be buried tomorrow. Dillon was slumped in front of the table, staring blankly in front of him. She gulped thickly when she looked at him. Dillon hadn't moved, hadn't said a word since he'd come back. She walked forwards slowly, one hand reaching into her pocket to grasp the item hidden there. "Dillon." She whispered.

He looked up at her slowly, brown eyes hollow and dead. He stared at her for a long moment as if he couldn't understand what he was seeing before he muttered, his voice cracking harshly, "Doc…?" Her heart broke all over again as she stared back at her Black Ranger. She drew her hand out, revealing the watch she'd found tucked into Ziggy's jean pocket. When she had first found it, it had been hot to the touch, Ziggy's power still locked in the metal of the object. Now it was barely lukewarm as the power started to fade. She held it out to him, watching as he stared at it in confusion. "It was in his pocket. I don't think it works anymore." She whispered.

Dillon reached up and took the watch from her, staring down at it sadly. K stared down at him for another moment before kneeling down in front of him. "Do you want to talk?" she asked. Dillon shook his head slightly, making her sigh. "Dillon, about his things… We've been thinking that you should be the one to go through them. For closer. And so that you could figure out what you want to keep." Dillon merely shrugged one shoulder, not looking at her. "I can't make this go away for you, Dillon. But if you want to talk, I will listen." She said after a pause. She didn't think he'd take her up on her offer. She reached forward and patted his knee gently before standing and walking towards the door. She paused briefly then turned to look at him.

"I think you need to talk to Tenaya." She told him. "She blamed herself for all of this and nothing I say has convinced her otherwise."

Dillon looked up at her again, a bit of life returning to his eyes at the mention of his sister. "It's not her fault." He said. She nodded. "I know that but she needs to hear it from you."

"Why me?" he muttered and she had to resist the urge to walk over and slap him. "You're her brother." She answered once she was sure she could keep her voice soft and even. "And because, we all lost Ziggy but without Ziggy, I think you lost yourself." She turned and left him alone.

It was a few hours later that Dillon finally came out of the lab and walked over to the couch. Everyone paused in order to watch him, unsurety and hesitation in their gazes. Dillon stopped in front of the couch and grabbed the arm Tenaya had flung over her eyes, using it to pull her up into his arms. He held her tight, like he was afraid he'd loss her too if he wasn't careful. For a long moment, he didn't say anything, just held her close and ran his fingers through her hair. "It's wasn't your fault." He whispered finally. "I don't blame you."

Those words seemed to be a bit too much for the poor girl and she started crying in earnest, clinging to Dillon like he was her only safe harbor. Then everyone was crying somehow. Gemma walked over from her corner and let Gem and Flynn wrap her in their arms. Scott held Summer to him, letting her tears soak his shirt. Even K leaned back against the counter and let a few tears fall slowly down her face. Dillon…didn't cry.

They could have stood there for hours before Tenaya finally stepped away, a few tears still falling down her face. "I'm sorry." She choked out. "I am so sorry. About everything." Dillon gently grasped her chin and made her look at him. Once he once sure he had her attention he told her, "This isn't, and never will be, your fault. Never let anyone tell you differently." He pulled away after another minute and looked up at Ziggy's room. He took a deep, but shaky, breathe and told them. "I'm, uh, Ziggy's things…"

"Do you want help?" Summer asked gently. Dillon seemed to consider it for a brief moment then shook his head with a weary, torn expression. "No. I need to do this alone." He whispered. Tenaya laid a gentle hand on his arm in reassurance before she turned and walked over to K, burying herself in the younger woman's arms like she had with Dillon. Dillon watched them for a few minutes then took a deep breath and walked towards Ziggy's room. He paused at the door then slowly entered. All the power that had always echoed around the room, a constant reminder of Ziggy's presence, had drained out, leaving it empty and lifeless. A few boxes had already been placed on the bed.

He leaned against the door for a few minutes, merely staring around the room, and then slowly walked over to the dresser. Several different items and pictures had been laid out across the surface. There was a letter opener that looked like a very small claymore, a white drawstring bag full of marbles, a small blue feather, and a beat-up black and silver shell. All those got set aside in the box closest to him. Then he got started on the pictures. There were hundreds of them, most of them small enough to fit in a wallet. Quite a few of them were of the team and he put all of those away in a separate box for the others to look through for themselves.

Then he found a good-sized one, hidden near the back but at the perfect angle for one to see it from the bed. It was in a simple light brown frame and it looked like the newest in the group. It was a picture of him, Ziggy, and Tenaya. He didn't remember anyone taking it, which he should because they'd all posed for it. Ziggy stood between him and Tenaya, a bright smile on his face. Tenaya had latched onto the arm closest to her and was holding it close, sticking her tongue out at the camera with a wide grin. He himself stood with his arm looped around Ziggy's shoulders, his hand buried amidst the boy's curls, tugging Ziggy towards him. He sat down on the bed, staring at the picture. The Ziggy in this picture was the one he'd fallen in love with, the one that could smile without a care in the world. This was the Ziggy he'd never get back.

The first tears he'd had since the Venjix facility burned at the back of his eyes as he carefully set it in another box, for all the things he wanted to keep. A few minutes later, Ziggy's white coat was carefully placed around it as he went through the dresser.

Once all of Ziggy's clothes had been carefully folded and put away, he walked over to the desk. There was much there except some pencils and the notebook Ziggy had written in on occasion. He tucked the pencils in one corner of a box. The notebook he stared down at for a few minutes, undecided on if he wanted to keep it or not. Then he reached out and flipped to the last entry, hoping that maybe Ziggy had written something there to explain why he'd chosen to die. Ziggy's small, thin handwriting dominated the page.

_I am sorry Dillon. This is something that I feel I must do. I hope that in time you can forgive me for not telling you the truth. If I had, you would have had to choose between me and Tenaya. You would have chosen me. You would have hated yourself, for the rest of your life for giving up your sister, but I know you would have chosen me. I couldn't make you do that. It would have torn me apart, seeing you like that._

_And I'm sorry I didn't tell before this, but I do care about you, a very great deal. Don't worry much. Please do me a favor and just living. And please don't cry._

_I still believe you're going to save me Dillon. With all my heart, I believe that._

_ Ziggy._

Dillon stared down at the words for a long time, taking slow, shaky breaths. "Save you?" he finally whispered. "How am I going to save you? You died." He bit his lip and flipped back a few pages, scanning through the entries, looking for clues, for a reassurance that everything was going to be okay. He stopped when he saw his name again, reading the entry more carefully. Several of the lines had been written very carefully, while others looked like they'd been rushed through.

_I guess I can't deny it anymore. This isn't friendship, not anymore. Not by a long shot. I can't keep lying to myself._

_I love Dillon._

_See, that wasn't so hard, now was it? Who am I kidding? I'll never be able to say it aloud. Not to him. I can barely say it to myself. I won't, I can't, lose him. I'll fall apart. So, I'll keep this to myself. For now at least. When the war's over, I'll tell him. When he doesn't have so much to worry about._

_Then, I'll tell Dillon I love him. For sure. Or at least, before this tears me apart._

_ Ziggy._

Dillon had been hanging on an edge since Ziggy had died. The only reason he hadn't fallen apart with the others was because a large part of him had died with Ziggy, leaving him feeling dead inside. Every part of him had gone cold without Ziggy's smile. This pushed him over that edge. _I love Dillon._ He blurred into movement, grabbing the notebook and throwing it across the room as hard as he could. It hit the far wall, pages tearing out of the bindings and falling to the floor. His knees gave out and he sunk to the floor, leaning against the wall next to him. Tears poured in waves down his cheeks as he finally fell fully apart, the dead hollowness that existed in his heart no longer enough to keep his pain at bay. He tugged his knees up and buried his head in his arms. "Why?" he choked out. "If you loved me so much, then why did you leave me?"

-0-0-

Tenaya stared at the closed door to the room that used to belong to Ziggy. Slowly, she pulled herself out of K's arms, frowning at the closed door. She had a bad feeling. K's eyes blinked slowly open to stare at her tiredly, still red from the few tears she'd shed. Tenaya glanced back at her briefly and smiled weakly. She hadn't meant to wake the doctor after she had finally managed to fall asleep. "What's wrong?" K asked, sitting up on the couch as well.

"It's Dillon. I don't think we should have let him do this alone." She muttered. K stared at her for a moment then nodded. "No perhaps not. Go." She told her. Tenaya smiled as much as she could at the one person she had never imagined would become her friend then stood and walked slowly up the stairs. She paused outside the door, much like her brother had, then entered. Boxes sat half-filled on the bed. Papers were scattered across the floor on one side of the room. Dillon was collapsed against another wall, sobbing brokenly into his arms. The sight tore at her heart. No matter what he said, Tenaya knew the blame for this sat partially on her. She shouldn't have run.

She walked forward slowly then dropped to her knees and gathered her brother to her, holding him close like he had held her. He didn't even seem to realize she was there, remaining limb in her hold as tears rolled down his cheeks. She didn't say anything, just rocked him back and forth slowly and tried not to absorb the emptiness of the room. The sun had long since set by the time Dillon cried himself dry and finally realized she was there. "'Aya?" he asked, looking up at her slowly. There was something broken in his gaze.

She gulped and nodded, pulling away slowly. "Are you alright?" she asked.

Dillon stared at her for a moment then shook his head. He looked like he was struggling to say something before he finally choked out, "He was my Summoner, my Ziggy. I was supposed to protect him. And now he's _gone_." Tenaya bit her lip as her brother pulled away from her to look around the room in sorrow. There was nothing she could do to help him. "I ruined his book." Dillon said after another minute, sounding faintly hysterical and staring at the pile of papers across the room from him. In the middle of the pile was a small notebook. She stood and walked over to it.

Dillon watched as his sister bent down to retrieve the thrown notebook, gathering the mess of papers and placing them back into the book before walking back over to him. He took it from her gently and opened it, letting the loose papers slide into his lap. He ruined it. He'd never be able to fix it. He carefully picked up the loose papers and winced when he saw several had been torn right through the middle when they'd fallen out.

A single, whole paper fell from the group to flutter to the floor.

He picked it back up, placing it on top of the pile. Then paused when his eyes caught a familiar word. Ziggy's light, chipper voice echoed in his head. _"Then let's call it our Hymn to Fayth."_ Written out across the page in black ink in Ziggy's familiar scrawl was the word Fayth.

_**Fayth**__: A soul willingly taken from its still living body and sealed inside a ceremonial stone carved to imitate its new form in order to become an Aeon._

There were a few more entries under that but Dillon couldn't tear his eyes off that one sentence. His heart pounded in his ears. Ziggy, he… no, no, it was a stupid hope. But it was hope all the same. He stood slowly, grasping at the desk next to him for support. "Dillon? What's wrong?" Tenaya asked. He handed her the stack of papers even as he pulled his watch from his pocket. It was still slightly warm and he thought maybe he knew why now. Tenaya still looked confused. "He called it our Hymn to Fayth. I thought he was talking about belief." He told her. He took a deep breath and turned the watch over.

Etched into the back was the simple image of a man wielding a staff. It defiantly hadn't been there before they'd rescued Tenaya, before Ziggy's death. He smiled, just slightly, and showed it to Tenaya. "He wasn't. He was talking about his plan."

Tenaya frowned, glancing from the pages in her hands to the watch and back again. She paused suddenly, her eyes lingering on the same sentence his had. Finally, she shook her head and looked up at him. "This doesn't mean you can save him, Dillon. He might really be gone and I don't want you getting hurt."

"No, you're wrong. He's been trying to tell me this was his plan all along. I just wasn't listening." Before she could say anything, Dillon brushed past her and out the door.

-0-0-

"Shiva!"

All the Rangers jumped at the sudden shout and turned to watch Dillon descend the stairs. He looked… alive. He paused to give them all a brief smile, freezing most of them in place, before shouting again. "**SHIVA!** I know you can hear me! We need to talk!"

Tenaya was hurrying down the stairs as well now, papers held tightly in one hand as she descended. K moved over towards her immediately. "What is he doing?" she asked in concern. Tenaya glanced at her brother then back over at them. "Either he's grasping at straws or Ziggy's smarter than we ever gave him credit for." She told him.

The air shifted and suddenly the ice goddess was standing in front of Dillon. Her eyes were dark and hollow, eerily reminiscent of how Dillon's had been earlier. Her shoulders were slumped and there was an air of defeat around her. The grace, the arrogance that always surrounded her was gone. The Rangers were obviously not the only ones who had been so devastated by Ziggy's death. "Yes, Sir Dillon?" she asked quietly.

"Catch." Dillon told her, throwing her the watch. She caught it reflexively then froze, her eyes flying wide in surprise. She didn't lower her arm from where she had caught the watch, instead turning her hand to face her so she could stare at the new carving on the once smooth surface. She turned her head back to Dillon. "There are no new Aeons." She told him quietly. "I would know if there were."

"But it is a Fayth." Dillon said, making her nod. She brought the watch closer for a better inspection and frowned. "As this always here?" she asked. He shook his head. "It's Ziggy's." he informed her.

Shiva jerked her eyes back to his for a moment. She turned the watch over in her hands for a few moments then whispered. "It's not complete."

"I don't understand." Summer whispered from the sidelines. "What's going on?"

Shiva turned to look at her briefly as she explained. "A Fayth is a willingly soul taken from its body to serve as an Aeon, a summons. Sir Dillon believes that is what Lord Ziggy has done. But this…" She looked back down at the watch in her hands. "It's barely half a soul. It's like it's been torn in half. Without the other half it wouldn't work as an Aeon." She explained. Then she paused and turned to look at Dillon. "But it would prevent him from dying fully. It would create a link to the living world, preventing the other half of his soul from breaching the Heart Wall, thus unable to return at all."

Dillon let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding, feeling faint with relief. "Can it bring him back?" he asked.

"I don't know." Shiva answered truthfully. "I didn't know something like this could be done. I don't know how he even thought to do it. But theoretically, it should work."

"Wait." K said, stepping forward. "His body is dead. He has no pulse. I've checked. Several times."

Shiva gave her a look that said she was being stupid. "Are there not several chemicals on this world that create a death-like state while the person is still alive?" she asked. "The body dies when the soul has entered the Heart. Until that time, it is stuck between death and life. It will die if left without a soul for too long but that should not have happened yet. It has not been long enough."

Dillon stared at the watch in her hands then looked up to meet her gaze. "How do I do it?" he asked.

"The bit of soul in this is still asleep. Wake it up and it should call back the other half from where ever it is now." Shiva answered. Dillon nodded. "Let's do this then." He told her.

-0-0-

Dillon wasn't sure what Shiva did to him but he suddenly found himself in a wide but mostly empty room. The walls towered above him and led into blackness. The room was lit by torches and a strange white-gold glow that seemed to seep out from the walls. He turned to look behind him and founded an opening covered by a shield-like piece of stone by pale green coverings that came out of the ground and seemed to be as thick of shells yet looked like silk. He frowned and looked down at himself. He was wearing the all black outfit he had seen only once before when he had visited the heart, only now it was outlined by threads of white-gold.

He walked farther into the room, his feet not making a single sound against the cold stone floor. In the middle of the floor was a perfect half-sphere of raised glass. And laid out across it, sound asleep, was Ziggy. The boy was breathing and his skin was a healthy color again. He rushed forward, dropping down next to him on the glass and shook his shoulders. "Ziggy! Ziggy, wake up!" He said in desperation. "Please wake up!"

Ziggy groaned, his eyes slowly sliding open to gaze at him in confusion. "Dillon…" he muttered, his brow furrowing. Relief, rich and liberating, crashed through him and he pulled the boy into the tightest hug he could, tears pushing at his eyes. "You're okay. Oh god, you're okay." He breathed against Ziggy's curls. He pulled back and framed his face in his hands, pressing their foreheads together. "Ziggy, my Ziggy." He whispered. Ziggy felt warm and reassuring, felt alive.

Ziggy kept looking at him with wide eyes, clarity and realization slowly returning to his eyes. "Dillon?" he whispered again, his own hands coming up to frame Dillon's face. Ziggy smiled then, warmth and love bright and clear in his eyes. A few tears slid down Dillon's cheeks as he once again pulled Ziggy close. Ziggy didn't say anything about the tight grip, remaining soft and plait and warm in the circle of his arms. After a few long moments, Ziggy finally whispered against his ear. "Dillon, let's go home."

He nodded in agreement, moving his hands to clutch at Ziggy's. He lifted them both to their feet and turned them towards the exit. The pale green shells lifted away as they approached and the shield-like stone lifted up, allowing them to leave. Ziggy tightened his grip on his hand and smiled slightly at him before plunging into the black emptiness that lay beyond the room.

-0-0-

The first thing Dillon was aware of when he came to was the tight band of warmth around his hand. He stared blankly up at the ceiling for a long moment before realizing that someone had moved him into K's lab and that the warmth was Ziggy's hand, slowly increasing the pressure of his grip. He turned his head to look next to him and saw Ziggy sleeping peacefully on a metal bed next to his, the slow rise and fall of his chest becoming more apparent by the minute.

He never does notice K suddenly sitting up straight in her chair next to them, or her running to get the others, and he defiantly doesn't notice the others pouring into the room. What he does notice, is Ziggy's eyes slowly fluttering open to stare at him. His eyes were a familiar dark brown, but now they glowed with an internal power, holding all the mysteries of the universe. Ziggy stared back at him for a long moment before a small, warm smile, one that felt immensely personal, something just for him, crossed his lips. Ziggy squeezed his hand harder briefly to show he was awake and aware. "Hey."

Dillon returned the brief pressure. "Hey." He echoed.

Then suddenly the others were there, pulling them both into sitting positions and clapping them on the backs, smiles and tears all around. He nodded in reply to whatever they were saying, not tearing his eyes away from Ziggy as the younger man stood up from the table he'd been placed on, stumbling a little before righting himself, and returned the smiles. Dillon sat up slowly, watching as Ziggy laughed and spewed apologies to the others; smiling kindly at Tenaya and engulfing the young woman in a hug, telling her something he couldn't hear. There was something different about the boy, some strange air around him that seemed almost otherworldly. He stood up fully and finally approached the younger man. Tenaya saw him and backed away. Ziggy turned to him with soft eyes and his familiar smile.

Dillon punched him.

Ziggy stumbled back, head turned down by the strength of the hit, as the others gasped in shock. Slowly, Ziggy looked up at him with wide, hurt brown eyes, moving one hand to lightly touch his jaw. "That was for leaving, you moron." Dillon hissed angrily. "And this," he continued, dropping the sour tone, "is for coming back." Then, before everyone, he grabbed Ziggy's shirt to haul him close and dragged him into a rough, almost desperate kiss. He poured all his recent heartbreak, grief, and deep relief into it, hoping Ziggy understood that he never wanted him to do anything so stupid again. Ziggy kissed back, sighing against his lips softly, his fingers threading through his hair. He could distantly hear the other Rangers whistling and laughing as they watched, but he gave them no mind.

They pulled apart slowly, only after they realized that breathing was a necessity, not an option. Ziggy was flushed, wide-eyed, and all smiles, his breathing slightly heavier than normal. Dillon rested his head against Ziggy's, letting their breath mingle. Something felt different, nothing big or important, just a little off. It took him a minute but after that, he realized what it was. Before they'd left to rescue Tenaya, Ziggy had tasted like the strawberries Flynn had put into the morning's smoothies. Now, Ziggy tasted only like sheer, raw power. Dillon could feel it, really feel it, thumping along every line of Ziggy's body. It was like standing next to a small sun, the intensity and power overwhelming and awe-inspiring. Never had Ziggy's power been so apparent.

"Dillon." Ziggy whispered, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Hm?"

"I love you."

Dillon grinned slowly, pulling Ziggy into another kiss. Next to them, he heard Scott shout, "Oh thank God. Finally!"

Ziggy giggled a little into the kiss and Dillon thought that yeah, this was enough.

-0-0-

Dillon hadn't let the younger man out of his arms for what little was left of the day. Midnight had been fast approaching when they woke up, and by the time Ziggy had gone through all the tests meant to ensure he was perfectly okay and the team had had a small party in the kitchen, it had been half-way to sunrise. The entire time, Dillon hadn't let Ziggy go, always keeping one arm around his shoulders or waist, afraid that if he let go the younger man was going to disappear, or that he was going to wake up and this was all going to be a dream and Ziggy was still dead. So by the time everyone retired, no one even thought twice that Dillon followed Ziggy into his room, one hand still latched around the Summoner's wrist.

Ziggy gave a grimace when he saw the half-packed state of his room and turned around to engulf Dillon in a hug. Dillon blinked in confusion but held the boy to him until Ziggy pulled back and moved the boxes off his bed so he could fall down onto it. Dillon toed off his shoes before lying down next to him, wrapping his arms around Ziggy's waist. "You should have told me earlier." He whispered.

"About what?"

"About you loving me." He replied. He heard Ziggy's smile when he whispered, "I've told you now."

He smiled slightly and shifted, resettling with his head on top of Ziggy's chest, listening to his heartbeat. "I love you too." He said. One of Ziggy's hands came up and ran through his hair. That, combined with the rhythmic beating of Ziggy's heart against his ear, was enough to lull him to sleep. The fact that Ziggy's started to hum the 'Hymn to Fayth' didn't help.

Dillon swore he couldn't have been out for more than a few minutes when he woke up again, but the sun just coming up said otherwise. He and Ziggy must have shifted during the sleep because they were on their sides, Ziggy curled up against his chest. And Ziggy was staring blankly past his shoulder, wide-eyed and breathing heavily. Dillon sat up immediately. "What's wrong?" he demanded.

Ziggy slowly lifted his gaze to stare at him. "I get it now." He whispered his tone soft. "What my dreams were trying to tell me. I get it now."


	16. Chapter 16

Is it short? Yes. Is it mostly filler? Yes. Is it completely necessary for the next chapter to work? Yes.

Hymn to Fayth

Chapter 16

Dillon watched anxiously as Ziggy paced back and forth across the length of the room, occasionally running a hand through his hair. Ziggy was muttering to himself almost too fast for him to keep up but he knew the light starting to shine in his eyes. Ziggy was forming a plan. Dillon really hoped Ziggy didn't die in this one. There was also a power building in the air, becoming more and more obvious with every lap Ziggy did. It was starting to become a buzz against his skin, causing goose bumps to spread across his arms. He gritted his teeth against the feeling and glared at the new High Summoner. "Ziggy, calm down." He hissed.

Ziggy turned to stare at him with wide eyes, power glinting sharply in the dark corners of his eyes. "Sorry." He muttered. "I'm trying to think but everything's kind of jumbled together in my head. When I was… dead, I was resting right at the Heart, I mean right there. I absorbed some things, power, knowledge, and it got all muddled up in my head when you pulled me back. I didn't have the time to sort through it before and now it's just being a pain. I can't think straight." He sighed heavily and sat down next to Dillon on the bed, burying his head in his hands and gazing blankly in front of him.

Dillon wrapped his arms around Ziggy's stomach, pulling the smaller man into his lap easily. "It's okay. You'll figure it out." He paused then asked. "You want to write it down?" Ziggy snorted at the suggestion. "You broke my book." He reminded, not even bothering to look in the direction of where Dillon had placed the ruined notebook.

He winced slightly at the reminder. "Sorry."

Ziggy just smiled and turned into the embrace, resting his head against Dillon's chest. "It's alright. You're forgiven." Ziggy trailed off for a minute before he started muttering to himself again, turning his head so his face wasn't pressed against Dillon's shirt. For a long moment, he stayed like that, muttering questions and half-formed sentences quietly. Then he paused again, sitting up straight to gaze at something off to the side. Dillon followed his gaze and found his pocket watch resting next to the bed. He flicked his eyes back to Ziggy to see him biting his lip in thought, his eyes distant.

Dillon knew the minute all the pieces clicked together in his head because his eyes lit up. Ziggy turned to grin up at Dillon's expectant face. "Dillon." He said softly, his eyes shining in excitement. "I know how to beat Venjix."

Dillon didn't know what he was expecting but it definitely wasn't that.

-0-0-

It took a while but eventually Dillon and Ziggy had managed to get the entire team downstairs. Not everyone had needed to be dragged awake, but Dillon still wasn't sure he wanted to know exactly Doc K had already been up and talking to Tenaya in their room. And the look both girls had given him had convinced Ziggy he didn't want to know either. Eventually, everyone was in the living room, the core three Rangers propping each other up so they didn't fall asleep and the twins way too energetic. Dillon wasn't sure Ziggy should have given them the coffee he had given to the others. It probably wouldn't end well.

Ziggy himself was once again curled up in his lap but now he gazed at the team seriously, as if the intimate way Dillon had basically wrapped himself around the Summoner was at all new. He had already delivered the news to the half-asleep team. Dillon wondered if they should have waited for the sun to rise. This might all have been absorbed easier and clearer if the team leader wasn't falling asleep on them. As it was, Scott simply stared at Ziggy with blank brown eyes, looking as if the information had yet to penetrate his brain. The others looked much the same. Except gem and Gemma, who were too hyped up on caffeine by now to understand anything beyond the news that they could blow something up.

Thankfully, his sister and the doc were still very much awake and aware. "I don't know if Colonel Truman will go for this. You know how he is with going outside the dome." K said, looking reluctant to damper the whole plan. Tenaya looked like she was already planning the best way to storm Venjix's castle. Ziggy nodded as if he had already thought of Colonel Truman. Dillon glanced at the younger man from where he was resting his head on Ziggy's shoulder. Ziggy looked resolute and determined, his eyes burning with power and strength. It looked like he had absorbed more than just power from the Heart.

He'd regained the quiet, mysterious, almost mythical air he'd lost when Dillon had gotten to know him.

"Only do what you've always done and you'll only get what you've always got." Ziggy whispered quietly. "We stay here and do nothing and Venjix will always be out there, waiting. We have to fight while we can."

"Can we lure him in and make it work?" K asked, looking liked she still wanted to avoid an argument with Truman. She had ever since he'd learned she'd released Venjix. Tenaya looked like she just wanted to hurt the virus. The others were starting to look like they were waking up. Dillon sighed softly, his breath ruffling Ziggy's curls and causing him to twitch. This was going to take forever.

Ziggy shook his head in reply. "No. We need to get rid of every place it can hide. It won't work if it can run. The computers, the tower, the body. It all needs to be destroyed." He explained calmly.

Scott finally seemed to understand what was going on and sat up straight, causing first Summer, then Flynn to fall. Scott blinked at them for a few minutes as if he couldn't understand why they had fallen before turning back to Ziggy. "Okay, let me get this straight." He muttered, before running a hand through his hair in thought. Then he looked back at Ziggy. "You can beat Venjix, using whatever it is exactly you did to Dillon's watch. But only if we destroy everything else first. How exactly does that work?"

"There's still a bit of my soul trapped in the watch. As long as I hold it, there shouldn't be a problem." He said, hurrying through the last sentence when Dillon opened his mouth to say something in worry. "But I can use it. The two should cancel each other out."

Dillon frowned in thought, gazing at the boy quietly. "Will that hurt you?" he asked. Ziggy shook his head, grabbing his hand in reassurance.

Scott thought about it for a minute then nodded. "Okay. Anything else you got planned? Like, I don't know, dying again?" he asked, his tone slightly bitter. Dillon really didn't think Scott of all people should be bitter when compared to what he himself had had to go through.

Ziggy paused briefly then tightened his grip on Dillon's hand briefly. Understanding the silent message, Dillon let his arms drop from around Ziggy's waist so the Summoner could stand up. "I don't plan to die." He said, in such a tone that no one could doubt him. "But I do have something else planned."

Everyone was wide-awake now. The twins had settled down when Ziggy had stood up, sensing the air he had gathered around him. No one said anything, just waited to see how Ziggy was going to change their lives this time. "I-" Ziggy closed his eyes and smiled a tight little smile. "I have chosen a painful, unforeseeable path for all of us." He slid open his eyes in order to gaze at all of them. "A few months ago, right after the Guardian bond formed, I had a dream. A little girl asked me to let her rest. Ever since then, I've been having dreams about the former Summoners, mostly about the High Summoner Yuna, the last true Summoner of the Spiran Age. I couldn't figure out why until now." He stopped and took a deep breath before he continued. "I'm going to end the legacy of the Summoners. I will be the last." There was silence for a few minutes as everyone absorbed those words.

"We won't have a Protector anymore." Ziggy continued. "No one to help us when we screw up. Once I do this, we're on our own. No more Summoners. No more Aeons. No more Guardians. Just us. It won't be easy. If we screw up again, it's over. But…" he trailed off briefly then smiled, wide, bright, and encouraging. "Let's have faith in people's hearts."

Dillon smiled at the words and caught Ziggy's gaze, tilting his head just slightly in a nod. Ziggy nodded back in response, knowing he had at least one supporter.

"Where do I sign up?" Tenaya asked, quietly, causing everyone to look at her. She lifted one shoulder in a shrug, her gaze defiant. "I was on board the minute you said I could hurt Venjix. I owe that thing pain. Just tell me when."

Ziggy smiled softly and nodded to her as well, his eyes shining in acknowledgement and amusement. Off to the side, Scott was nodding to himself. "Alright. I'll talk to dad. Let's do this."

-0-0-

The following week was a rush of activity. Apparently, ending a war, no matter how clear-cut the plan, took a lot of work. Most of the time, Dillon understood what was going on. Now wasn't one of those times. He gazed, right along with Tenaya, at Ziggy, who was sitting in the middle of the Garage, eyes closed and the watch held tightly in his hands. He couldn't see it yet, but Dillon could feel the wisps of power floating off of Ziggy, curling around him and the Summoner and that watch that he was starting to not like in the slightest. Tenaya leaned closer to him, tucking her hands into her pockets. "What's he doing?"

He shook his head slightly. "I don't know." He replied.

"Hun. Think it's safe?"

"I think so. He's putting out a lot of power."

"Really? Don't notice. Must be because of the Guardian bond."

"Yea, probably."

"Would you two shut up!" Ziggy finally snapped, opening his eyes to glare at them. The power around him dimmed slightly in response but in no way disappeared. "I'm trying to awaken the Fayth in the watch. I'll need it as an Aeon for it to work."

Dillon frowned down at him and traded a look with Tenaya, seeing the same question in her eyes that he had. "Shiva said there wasn't enough of the soul to become an Aeon."

Ziggy sighed heavily and gave him another annoyed look, although this one wasn't nearly as dark as the previous one. _You're being really slow_, his gaze seemed to say. "I guess it's a good thing I'm the rest of the soul then huh?" he asked sarcastically. Dillon grinned sheepishly and grabbed his sister by the arm. "We'll just be over here then." He said, tugging several feet away but still keeping Ziggy in his line of sight.

Tenaya gave him a look. "Okay, now you're being way overprotective. You've barely stopped touching him since you brought him back and I can't remember the last time you let him out of your line of sight." She told him quietly. He glared at her in annoyance briefly before refocusing on Ziggy.

"He's my Summoner. I'm just acting like a good Guardian." He replied calmly. He tightened one hand into a fist. "I won't lose him again. I _can't_ lose him again." He whispered, mostly to himself. Tenaya didn't say anything else, turning to put one more eye on the head strong Summoner although she doubted she would know if something went wrong.

It was a long while before Ziggy returned to the real world, his eyes sliding back open slowly. There were no theatrics, no real way to know anything at all had happened. He just suddenly became alert again. He carefully placed the watch in his pocket and stood up. Then he wavered, one hand moving to hover next to his head like he had a headache. Dillon was at his side in a minute, gripping one of his arms to keep him up as he gazed into the boy's brown eyes, looking for something she couldn't see.

Tenaya shook her head at the way they'd learned to read each other's minds this past week and walked over to them herself to make sure Ziggy was okay. The two were arguing in soft, good-natured tones, their eyes warm and amused.

"You're being stubborn and stupid, Lord Summoner." Dillon snarked, making Ziggy roll his eyes.

"Its Lord _High_ Summoner, Sir Dillon, you moron. You're being hardheaded and overly-concerned." Ziggy replied back. Tenaya forced herself to stifle a giggle when she saw the look on her brother's face, as if he wasn't sure if he wanted to strangle Ziggy or kiss him senseless. In the end, Dillon threw his arms up into the air and turned away, muttering to himself. Ziggy giggled slightly himself, looking triumphant when Dillon left the room for the partially repaired lab, putting Ziggy out of eyesight at last.

After a beat, Tenaya turned to go as well, intending to see if K had anything that she could do. Then Ziggy grabbed her arm, spinning her back around with surprising strength in order to gaze at her consideringly. Tenaya wondered what he saw in her, if he could read her like he read Dillon. Finally Ziggy spoke, in a low, formal tone. "Will you be my Guardian Tenaya?" he asked.

"What?" She asked in surprise. "Why? You have Dillon."

"And Dillon will watch my back. I need someone to watch his." Ziggy replied calmly. Tenaya gazed at him quietly for a moment then nodded.

"Alright."

-0-0-

Dillon wasn't sure giving his sister magical powers was a good idea. He didn't mind the fact that she was now a Guardian. The Guardian power on the other hand. That was a different story. That basically boiled down to the fact that he hadn't known his sister was such a pyromaniac. He watched with a raised eyebrow as Tenaya twirled in place, a fire spell following her fingers as she showed off her new abilities. Ziggy was watching it with an amused smile next to him. K was dangerously close to the human fireball, watching the display with much more interest than she's watched his own training sessions. Tenaya's were more flashy, true, but he didn't think that was why K was standing so close, despite the threat to personal bodily harm.

"Are we sure we should be letting her do that?" he asked Ziggy in a whisper, his arm slung across the boy's shoulders. Ziggy smiled up at him and nodded. "But what if she burns down the Garage?"

Ziggy laughed softly and leaned fully against him. "She's a Black Mage. It's a matter of will, Dillon. If she doesn't want it to burn, it won't burn. That's why K can stand so close." He replied with more confidence than he expected.

Dillon gaze the boy a considering look. "I thought you said you couldn't force a Guardian Bond."

Ziggy shrugged and told him calmly. "Not before." He held up a hand when Dillon tried to continue. "The war ends tomorrow Dillon. Let's enjoy today. Things will change soon."

Dillon regarded Ziggy carefully then nodded and pulled him up for a kiss. No matter what happened, they were ready.


	17. Chapter 17

I want everyone to know that this is not the last chapter. I still have an epilogue I want to do. it should be finished later today or early tomorrow.

Hymn to Fayth

Chapter 17

The drive to the Palace was quiet. Everyone was tense, unwilling to say anything. The Rangers led an envoy of army trucks across the desert, Dillon's Fury in the lead so Tenaya could give directions. Within the confines of Scott's car, where she'd remain through the whole attack, was k, unwilling to be left behind when her mistake was finally corrected. Ziggy sat silently in the front seat next to Dillon, his hands in his lap and his head tilted to the side, using his powers to look out for any stray Grinders or patrols. If anyone found them now then they'd be doomed. Everyone knew the plan. The core three Rangers and the twins would enter first, driving back any grinders or Attack-bots they found. They had specific orders to run if they found a general and leave to Dillon and Tenaya. The two of them, plus Ziggy, would enter after, all unmorphed so as not to interfere with their powers. They were to finish of the anything the others missed so that the normal humans could enter in behind them and gather whatever resources they found and rescue any prisoners.

Once they entered the heart of the complex, Dillon, Tenaya, and Ziggy were to split up, despite multiple protests from the Guardians and the other Rangers. Ziggy needed it to be his Guardians that would be destroying the two main places Venjix could retreat to. The main body, the one they had first encountered out in the Wastelands, Ziggy would deal with himself. No one really liked that part. Ziggy was sure though. He could do it. He was the High Summoner after all.

"I need you at those other points. Your powers will prevent him from fleeing there." He had told them. He still wasn't sure they would obey him.

Tenaya leaned forward from the backseat again to tap on Dillon's shoulder and redirect their course. Dillon turned the car in the direction she pointed, neither making a sound throughout the small exchange, leaving the three in silence. Tenaya had come to understand in the little time since she'd become a Guardian why Dillon was so protective of Ziggy. Becoming a Guardian installed a basic need to protect the Summoner no matter what. Ziggy was the Summoner and they were the Guardians. No matter how strong Ziggy was, it was their job to protect him, with their lives if they must. The fact that Ziggy was forcing them to abandon him in a war zone didn't sit well with them.

She still wasn't sure she was going to listen to him when the time came to separate.

Dillon wasn't happy either. Every time he thought of the fact that he'd leave Ziggy on his own, he got nervous, anxious, and nauseous. He couldn't believe Ziggy was asking him to do this. He'd made it pretty damn obvious this past week that he wasn't comfortable yet letting Ziggy out of eyesight for more than a few minutes at a time. Not so soon after losing Ziggy. And to do so knowing he was going to face off with their biggest enemy. He didn't care how powerful Ziggy thought he was. The plan was insane.

Dillon was still seriously considering listening to him though. Because it was Ziggy and despite everything that had happened lately, or perhaps because of it, he trusted him to keep his word.

The convoy came to a stop about a mile away from the Palace, just beyond the first Grinder patrol. Venjix obviously thought that it didn't have to fear them, that despite the recent series of successes they'd had against its machines, they were still too scared to leave their little dome. If the Doctor had ever done anything wrong with the virus' programming, it was to make it so arrogant. Thankfully, this trait would only help them and Venjix wouldn't be getting a chance to learn from its mistakes.

The first wave of Rangers were all practically glowing due to the sheer number of spells Ziggy had layered on them; everything he could think of, from Hastega to Regan. No one was sure how many of the spells would stay once they morphed the two energies combined but Ziggy was sure at least one spell would hold and even would help immensely. The rest of them had significantly less spells; the soldiers had practically none since they wouldn't really be fighting, in order for Ziggy to conserve his energy. Dillon thought Ziggy could probably do that for everyone in Corinth and still take on Venjix.

Scott checked briefly that the three who wouldn't be morphing had a working communicator before he led the other Rangers in a morphing call and led them into the heart of enemy territory. Ziggy fiddled with his communicator, waiting for Scott's call for the next wave to come in. Next to him, K was talking quietly with Tenaya for a minute before returning to Scott's car. Finally, he asked what had been on his mind the entire ride here, quiet enough so the soldiers couldn't hear him and panic that the plan would go wrong because of his two stubborn Guardians. "Can I trust you two to follow my lead in there?" he asked.

They both understood what he was referring to. Tenaya shifted uncomfortably from where she stood next to him, not looking at him. Her lips were pressed firmly shut. Dillon gazed resolutely ahead, not looking at Ziggy, but he did reply. It just wasn't the answer Ziggy was hoping for. "We'll see when that time comes won't we?" Ziggy turned his head to look up at his older Guardian, looking for a sign of his true intentions.

Before he could discern if Dillon was even bothering to think of listening to him, the communicator crackled to life in his hands. _"First section clear. Alarms are on. Second wave proceed."_

Ziggy sighed- they'd been hoping the alarms wouldn't go off until at least the second wave to prevent the other Rangers from running into a general- but the three of them hurried towards the Palace. What should have taken a very long while to move across became seconds due to the Hastega spells they had, speeding them all up. Then they entered the Palace. The remains of Grinders and attack-bots littered the floor, proving just how thoroughly the Rangers had done their jobs. Unless there were hidden tunnels this close to the outer walls, they wouldn't get any surprise attacks.

Slowly, almost unwillingly on Tenaya's part, they walked towards the middle of the Palace where they'd have to separate. Tenaya had liked this plan up to the point she'd become a Guardian and learned she'd have to leave Ziggy alone. Now she wished she hadn't volunteered.

They moved silently, no one speaking of the decision they were going to have to make soon, when the communicator sparked again. _"Calling for back up! I repeat, calling for back up!"_ Scott's voice shouted over the link. _"Fighting Venjix General Kilobot. Unable to disengage! Calling for back up!"_

The three all shared looks then took off, allowing Ziggy to guide them towards the other Rangers. The spells gave them an edge over the attack-bots they normally needed a full team to beat but against a general, especially Kilobot, they would need help. It's why they'd been told to avoid them. They needed to move through the Palace as quick as possible before the envoy could be found outside unprotected. Fighting a general wouldn't accomplish that.

When they found their teammates, Kilobot was still standing, but only just. The Rangers were doing a very good job of handling him but there was already a good-sized dent in one of the walls where it looked like one of them had been thrown into it and grinders were flooding the scene by the second. Kilobot was sparking erratically from multiple spots where the Rangers had torn through its outer shell and exposed the wires within to damage. There was even a few marks of its last encounter with Dillon and his Armor Break attack.

Ziggy glanced over the whole scene and made a decision. "Clear the Grinders. Let the others handle Kilobot." He ordered.

This order they had no trouble obeying.

The two Guardians joined the fray, their unique abilities lighting up the hall in multi-colored lights. Ziggy focused and summoned the staff he had gained form the Final Summoning and walked calmly into the center of the battle, using the solid pole as a weapon. As a few seconds, Dillon appeared at his side again in order to give him a protection he didn't need. He smiled at the older man though and spun the staff briefly before using it to whack a Grinder upside the head. He pointed down at the machine and said, in a rather serious tone, "Stay."

Dillon snorted in amusement before grabbing his shoulder and spinning him behind him so he could knock out the Grinders behind him. Ziggy watched him for a moment before narrowing his eyes in anger when he saw the Grinders surrounding both his Guardians. He would not allow those two to be hurt. He raised his hand, power gathering at his fingertips strong enough to create a white glow bright enough to dazzle anyone who looked at it. It was his strongest non-summoning spell and he wasn't sure what it would do to the Grinders. But there was no better time to find out than now.

"Holy."

Pure white light filled the hallway, blinding nearly everyone with its intensity. When it cleared, everyone was alright. The machines weren't. Most of the Grinders had disappeared, leaving behind only a few tarnished pieces to mark they had ever been there. Kilobot lay on the ground, smoking from several wounds now as well as sparking. Scott, noticing as well, pushed the other core Rangers into action despite the dots still racing across their eyes and had them combine weapons. In a second, Kilobot was gone.

Scott turned to him then, his helmet disappearing to reveal his wide eyes and shocked expression. "How come you never mentioned you could vaporize Grinders?" he asked, his voice raised dangerously. Ziggy tilted his head to the side and vanished his staff as he told him calmly. "I didn't know I could. First time I've ever used that spell. I wasn't certain what it did exactly."

The Red Ranger rolled his eyes heavenward as if to ask for patience with his youngest Ranger and then glared at him. "I'm beginning to think dying left you damaged in the head. You're way too calm about this."

Ziggy resisted the urge to tell him that he was only calm on the outside, knowing it wouldn't convince his Guardians to let him go later. "Shall we proceed?" he asked instead, raising an eyebrow in question. Everyone nodded and moved quickly through the rest of the hallways, allowing Tenaya to lead them to the point where they had to separate. Scott, Summer, Flynn, and the twins looked at them and, sensing the unease about what was about to happen, they left. They turned around and headed back to the entrance, calling in the third wave of soldiers and going to help them rescue any prisoners.

The other three stayed there, looking at the different passageways. Ziggy looked the way he knew he needed to go and nodded to himself, heading off in that direction. Not unexpectedly, he heard the others start to follow him. He stopped then and looked at his Guardians, warning them with his gaze not to follow him. "You can't." he muttered. "You need to destroy the other components." He walked towards them and placed a hand on Tenaya's cheek. "I'll be fine." He told her softly before looking towards Dillon.

He reached forward to hold Dillon's arm with both his hands, gazing up at him imploringly. "Trust me." He whispered.

Dillon leaned down suddenly and stole a quick kiss before nodding slightly. "We'll go." He whispered. He pulled away slowly, gazing at the younger man for a long moment before motioning with his hand to Tenaya to follow him. Ziggy smiled slightly as he watched them go and turned towards his own hallway. Carefully, he pulled out Dillon's watch and flicked it open. A summoning circle appeared beneath his feet as the face of the watch started to glow. He tipped his body forward briefly, holding his hands out in front of him, then spun in a circle. The glow of the watch created a train of light that followed his movements. He watched out with his empty hand and grabbed the train of light, feeling it solidify into a pure white ribbon in his fingers. In one quick motion, he put the watch away and spun the ribbon out in front of him. It seemed to have a mind of its own because it suddenly started tugging forward without his help. Ziggy let it go.

It flew in front of him and wrapped around an invisible object several times. Suddenly a man faded into view. He was roughly Dillon's height, had shoulder-length black hair, wore pure white robes, and held a staff similar to his. His eyes were covered by the ribbon, hiding them from sight. Ziggy bowed slightly, "Janus." He whispered in acknowledgement. The summons returned the bow before he led the way along the corridor. Janus used multiple Holy spells the whole way to their destination, as well as employing a very powerful shield in order to protect the High Summoner from the Grinders and attack-bots that the other Rangers hadn't gotten too. Never once during the whole trip did Ziggy's calm steps falter.

Then they were there and Ziggy was staring across the room at the body Venjix used, watching as it turned to him. It had obviously expected the entire team for a massive show down. Not just him. Ziggy smiled coldly. "Enjoy your last moments here Venjix. You'll never have them again."

-0-0-

Dillon had long since separated from his sister so they could go their own separate ways. Dillon ran down the same hallway he'd been down a month ago when he'd rescued his sister from Kilobot. A few Grinders stood in his way but they didn't stand a chance. He'd caught several of them fleeing in another direction though and he feared he knew where they were going. They were going to intercept Ziggy. He hoped the younger man knew what he was doing.

Finally, he came upon the room where they held the main computers. He looked around briefly before he nodded to himself and gathered the Guardian powers to him and destroyed the machines. Soon, they were nothing but bits of metal at his feet. He grinned to himself and turned to leave, intending to run to Ziggy. Suddenly a long series of glyphs lit up the floor, making him stop. It wasn't a summoning circles but it was Ziggy's power. And he stood at the center of it.

Perhaps it was better if he stayed here for now. Until the marks on the floor went away.

-0-0-

Tenaya grinned viciously up at the tower that had once held the whole of Venjix's consciousness. It wasn't possessed anymore but she bet she could take a great deal of pleasure destroying it. She stepped calmly towards it, picking her way among the bits of Grinders she'd had to destroy. She stopped directly in front of the tower and held up in hand. Lightning arched from her fingertips to wrap around the tower. It exploded. She didn't bother to keep the manic grin off her face and proceeded to use the fire and blizzard spells to ruin whatever was left.

Humming happily to herself, she jumped off the platform she had entered on to go out the main hallway. Before she could get very far, the feeling of Ziggy's power lit up the room, making her pause. Strange marks were across the ground in an unfamiliar pattern, glowing a bright white gold. She examined the one closest to her carefully then sat down.

She didn't think she should be going anywhere with this things here.

-0-0-

Ziggy closed his eyes briefly when he felt the spells on his Guardians activate, signifying that they had destroyed the two main places the Virus could flee to. And with those spells activated, it wouldn't be able to hide anywhere else. He opened his eyes to see Venjix trying everything it could to break through the shield Janus had put up around him. He had waited to make his move until the other two were in place. Now he nodded to Janus and lifted one hand up.

The white ribbon that was wrapped around the summons eyes untied and flew into his hand. Bright red eyes opened, glinting maliciously. The staff was spun around and a long blade slid from it, turning it into a scythe.

Janus, the god of two faces. The summons to represent the calm power he held and how dangerous that power could become when he was angered. A protector and a destroyer.

The shield fell but before Venjix could take advantage of it, Janus leapt forward and attacked. The summons was stronger than even Ziggy had expected and steadily pushed the virus back. Then again, there had never been an Aeon made from the soul of a summoner before. The power and control a summoner needed was starting to show through in the summons though.

Ziggy took a deep breath and gathered his power around him when he realized Janus was making the final move. Janus jumped into the air, the blade glowing with power. He slashed it down, the power following the motion of the scythe and crashing down onto Venjix. Janus landed then started to spin the weapon rapidly around him in quick movements. A wall of power built around him before it flew straight at the virus, throwing it back flat into the wall. It crumbled.

Ziggy reached into his pocket and pulled out the watch again, holding it in front of him. Then he started the spell. The watch lifted from his hands to float in the middle of the room. His power washed out of the room, moving through the complex then drew swiftly back. Although he wouldn't know until he got back to Corinth, it was in that moment that all the machines in the Palace just stopped working and shut down, the well-built empire Venjix had created falling in a single moment as his spell drew in all essence of the toxic virus so it couldn't restart.

Every essence his power had collected spun towards the watch, fighting the power there, fighting to get free. The spells linked to his Guardians kept it in place though, a perfect trap. Then the power flashed throughout the room, nearly lifting him off the ground. He held his place though and after a minute, it was all over. The spells on his Guardians cancelled out and the watch fell from its place in the air. Ziggy breathed deeply and looked around. The now empty shell of Venjix was still crumbled against the wall. Janus was gone. Ziggy walked forward and picked up the watch, feeling the power that had gathered Venjix to it slowly seeping out of the metal.

It was over.

-0-0-

Tenaya and Dillon raced back to the convoy like they had planned, looking eagerly around for their Summoner. They could see the other Rangers helping a few injured into the trucks as well as now free prisoners off to the sides and raced over to them. They all looked relatively okay; the Regan Ziggy had cast on them healing injuries over time. K was out of the car, helping them as well and stopped to check on Tenaya. "Have you seen Ziggy?" Dillon demanded when he caught up to Scott. The Red Ranger shook his head.

"I'm here!" A voice called and they all turned to see the High Summoner walking towards them slowly. He looked unharmed. There was a wide grin on his face.

"Did it work?" Scott asked, causing everyone in the convoy to pause what they were doing and watch him. Ziggy looked straight at Scott when he answered. "That thing won't bother us ever again." He promised, his tone sure. A cheer went through the crowd and the two Guardians eagerly approached their Summoner to check him over.

While they were doing that, Colonel Truman finished getting everyone in the trucks. Then he turned to his son. "Scott, things will take a lot of work to get back in order back home. So I want you to know that I'm proud of you and what you and your team did here." Scott grinned widely at the praise and turned to his teammates as Truman walked towards the other trio. "Shall we return, Lord Summoner?" he asked, the title sarcastic but fond, showing how much he appreciated the help.

But Ziggy shook his head. "Not yet Colonel. There's still something I have to do." He answered, making the whole team pause. He turned to Dillon, shrugged off his jacket, and handed it to him. Then he toed off his shoes. He walked away from the group, making his staff appear. Colonel Truman frowned. "What's he doing?"

"Ending it." Dillon supplied as the rest of the team gathered around them. Several of the soldiers and those in the trucks leaned forward to catch a glimpse of what Ziggy was doing. Ziggy stopped several feet away from them and took a deep breath. Then he began to dance. It was slow and graceful, almost beautiful in a way. But it held the air of a tragedy. It was the most beautiful thing any of them had seen and it was the saddest. Summer found a few tears starting to catch onto her eyelashes for some reasons. "What is that?" she asked.

The Guardians glanced at each other briefly, unsure, before turning back to Ziggy. Only they could feel the power washing out from the boy, sweeping over the land in slow waves, searching. Another voice answered them instead. "It's a Sending." They turned in order to see Shiva behind them, watching Ziggy with a gaze that was equal parts sadness and joy. "It's a funeral ceremony. It guides the trapped souls to the Heart." As if to prove her words, the first pyreflies appeared, drifting towards the sky. At first, it was just close to Ziggy, then they started appearing farther and farther away from the Summoner. The twins turned to see the pyreflies appearing at the horizon and probably further.

Scott considered her words for a minute before shifting his stance into a short salute, his father following him. _Marcus. I hope this finds you and you can rest._

Summer let her tears fall slowly. _Thank you Andrew. I hope you saw the real me._

Flynn allowed the twins to curl up in his arms and whispered to them quietly. "And all ye ghosts be laid to rest." A silent message to them and the team to let go of any guilt they'd suffered from by being unable to save people during the war.

Doctor K understood the message and let out a shaky breath, letting go of the heavy weight that had held her down since the war had began. A smile touched her lips. _Forgive me. I hope this will end your suffering._

Tenaya turned to look at Shiva. "What happens now?" she asked.

Shiva looked at her and smiled. "Now you go home and rebuild. You've fought hard and as long as you never forget everything that's been lost, you will do fine. You might not even need the Summoners anymore. Just take care of him." They both understood she was referring to Ziggy and nodded. Doctor K moved forward slightly until her arm was touching Tenaya's, needing the support, and asked. "What happens to you?"

Shiva gave a wide smile. "Now I rest." She replied. She ran forward suddenly, closer to Ziggy. Pyreflies lit up her form, causing her to fade slightly. She turned back to them suddenly, her form shifting. Her long blue hair melted to brown curls, her eyes lightened to a softer blue. Her face became childlike, her stature shorter, and her clothes melted into a ceremonial outfit. She was barefoot and young, a child in every way. She smiled brightly at them then disappeared completely, fading out of existence.

"Goodbye Shiva." Tenaya whispered kindly.

Ziggy slowly danced to a stop, looking up at the sky where the pyreflies drifted. There were a lot of them, for every soul who had been lost to Venjix. He felt tired but satisfied, glad the friends he had made with the Aeons would be able to rest now. As he lowered the staff in his hands back to his sides, it disappeared into a wave of pyreflies. He had expected that to happen. Then, unexpectedly, a single pyrefly emerged from his chest to join with the others.

His connection to the heart vanished. The memories of the other Summoners disappeared. His own knowledge of the spells he had used dulled. That single pyrefly had been what had connected him to the Heart and with it gone, so was that connection. Ziggy took a deep breath and found the weight on his shoulders, the responsibility gone. He was free.

"Ziggy!" Dillon appeared next to him, the others not far behind. "Are you okay?"

"I'm alright." He muttered distractedly. Then he paused and turned to look at Dillon, eyes wide, smile growing, and his voice amazed and relieved when he repeated. "_I'm alright._"

It was truly over.

-0-0-

When they got back to the city, there was already a party going on. Everyone had eagerly awaited there return and somehow had gotten news of their victory because they'd been met with cheers and praise. The rangers had been given just enough time to get washed and changed into more formal clothes. The boys all changed into the attire they had worn to Summer's wedding while the girls found some rather beautiful dresses from somewhere in Summer's closet. Summer had found a white sundress with a yellow jacket over it. Tenaya wore a long black gown that showed off her neck and shoulders. K had been forced into a short black and white dress with long sleeves that fluttered with every movement. Then they had all been rushed off into the middle of the city and presented with enough awards that it made their heads swim to think about it. The whole ceremony ate up the rest of the day and by the time they could enjoy the party themselves, it was night.

Dillon walked outside the building the party was taking place in. They were somewhere near the middle of the city, a place Dillon had never really bothered to explore. Ziggy was standing outside, having found a secluded part of the vast lawn the building had where he could simply gaze up at the sky without all of his sudden, new admirers crowding him. "No more birdcage!" he called to him, grinning.

Ziggy turned towards him and smiled brightly, raising one hand to point up at the sky. Dillon looked up, knowing what he'd find. The shield was gone, allowing the people of the city to see the real sky for the first time in nearly two years through the transparent dome. Dillon could understand why Ziggy simply wanted to stare at it. There was a depthness, a majesty, to it that the program hadn't been able to fake. Dillon felt like he could fall into the empty spaces between the stars.

Ziggy walked closer to him, grinning widely. Dillon turned his head back to Ziggy, looking at him. There was no grace, no aura of power, no air of mystery. The power of the Summoners was gone from Ziggy's tiny body, leaving only him behind. It stuck Dillon that this was the first time he'd ever seen Ziggy move with such a lightness to his step. He had never seen the boy's eyes so clear. It was as enchanting as the power had been mesmerizing. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Ziggy asked him. Dillon knew he was referring to the sky but when he answered, he kept his eyes on Ziggy. "I see something better."

The younger man glanced at him then shook his head with a wide smile. He reached forward and grabbed his hand, pulling him back to the place he had been standing before, and dropping down to the ground. Dillon followed him. "You know, everyone in there is beginning to understand that we owe this victory to you."

Ziggy shook his head. "You would've found another."

"It wouldn't have been so easy though. Probably would have lost a lot of people. Could probably even have happened here, destroyed half the city. This… this is because we had you, the High Summoner Ziggy Grover. And everyone will have figured that out by the morning." He paused then grinned in amusement. "You're a war hero now. More so than the rest of us. Deal with it."

The former Summoner sighed and grabbed his hand, pulling it closer to him. "What do you want to do now?" he asked. Dillon shrugged. "We could leave." Ziggy suggested. "Go search for your memories."

Dillon thought about it then shook his head. "No." he said, causing Ziggy to look up at him in surprise and confusion. "If I keep looking for my past," he said slowly. "I'm going to forget to have a future. This is my home. I don't want to leave it." Ziggy smiled at him, his eyes wide and bright and _proud_. It made something settle warm and thick in his stomach and spread slowly out, warming every part of him. He smiled back and added in a lighter tone. "Although I would prefer it if we moved out of the Garage."

Ziggy froze and looked up at him. "We?" he asked, looking oddly vulnerable.

Dillon resisted the urge to gulp when he realized what he'd suggested and had to fight not to look away, trying to keep his tone as light as it had been. "You, Tenaya, and I." he paused then added, like Ziggy had always been a part of the deal, which he had been, right from the beginning, "I'm not leaving my sister behind to deal with Scott's daddy issues, Flynn's smoothie obsession, Gemma's crush, and Gem's brother complex."

Ziggy smiled widely at that and pushed him onto the ground to give him a very enthusiastic kiss. Dillon wondered vaguely just how many points he'd scored with that little move. He wrapped his arms around Ziggy's waist, not caring who saw them. Ziggy's hands threaded through his hair, messing up the strands, and sighing happily into the kiss.

After a few moments, someone cleared their throat near them. Dillon slid his eyes open just enough to glare at the intruder and found his sister standing a little ways away, grinning at them suggestively. He lifted one hand from Ziggy's back to wave at her and motion to give them a minute. Tenaya rolled her eyes and laughed a little.

After another few seconds, Ziggy pulled back to breathe and grinned up at his younger former Guardian. "Hi there. Feel like moving out of the Garage once this is over with us?" he asked in one quick breath. Dillon snorted and shook his head while Tenaya frowned in confusion, trying to pick apart the individual words that would make that sentence make sense.

Dillon probed the boy into rolling off of him then stood up, holding up out a hand to help him up. Ziggy took it with grace, sliding to his feet this some semblance of the elegance he had had as a Summoner. "Let's return, shall we?" he asked, and Ziggy nodded.

Ziggy leaned towards him quickly before them could move though in order to steal another quick kiss. As he did though, a low bomb rolled through the dome, causing them to jerk apart in surprise, Ziggy's head snapped up just in time to catch sight of the fireworks disappearing. Almost immediately though, they were replaced. Ziggy grinned brightly as he watched the fireworks cycle through the seven ranger colors and laughed softly at how he'd jumped. Then the laugh turned into full-blown hysterics when the next fireworks, straight on the heels of a white one lit up the sky in all seven colors, spelling out three little words. _Get In Gear_.

Dillon shook his head in wonderment and walked with him to Tenaya's side so they could reenter the building. Ziggy calmed down enough to tell them. "So, I talked to Colonel Truman. He wants to start up a civilian council to run the city. He'll be in it of course, to give his professional military opinion. He says it'll help return things to the way they were before Venjix."

Dillon nodded. "Sounds cool." He said, not very interested.

"He wants me to be a part of it." Ziggy continued.

Both he and Tenaya paused. "What?" He asked in surprise, sharing an astounded look with his sister. "You? Run the city?"

Ziggy nodded and shrugged one shoulder. "Like you said, people are realizing they couldn't have done this without me. Not so easily anyways."

"Oh we're doomed." Tenaya said, shaking her head in disbelief. Dillon gave her a look then turned back to Ziggy. "Are you seriously considering this?"

"Yes actually I am."

"But you hate politics." Dillon said. He had, after all, been the one that had had to listen to him mutter about them whenever Truman came over to argue with K or Scott. Ziggy nodded in agreement. "I know. I fear I'll be rather good at it." Dillon shared another look with Tenaya in disbelief. "Let's deal with this in the morning." He suggested. He walked forward and wrapped his arms around Ziggy's waist to escort him back to the party.

Ziggy shrugged briefly. "It's an idea. I do have the rest of my life to figure out what I want to do." He said. Dillon smiled slightly and tightened his grip.

The rest of their lives. He really liked the sound of that.


	18. Epilogue One Year Later

Its over. I can't believe its over. Well, this is the end. Hymn to Fayth is now offically done. Its been a long journey. But I'm really glad that I wrote this. Thank you to everyone that took the time to read this story. It means a lot to me.

Disclaimer: Any songs mentioned that Tenaya sings are the property of Orianthi. I do not own them. The rest of the disclaimer can be found on chapter 1.

Hymn to Fayth

Epilogue

**One Year Later**

One year, in hindsight, seemed like a very short time for so much to happen. Ziggy jogged down the steps that led to the council meeting hall, gazing over the heads of the other council members and lingering press to look for Dillon's car. He found it after a minute of searching for it, parked against the curb, with Dillon leaning against the side. He raised his hand to wave at him, grinning widely when the older man straightened and approached him. As Dillon came closer, he heard someone else call his name, making him turn.

One of the other councilors was approaching him, an angry scowl on their face. Ziggy resisted the urge to sigh, closing his eyes and silently praying for patience when he recognized the man approaching him. "How can I help you, Councilor Hanzil?" He asked quietly, hoping he kept the annoyance out of his voice.

Hanzil did no such thing. "What exactly do you think you're doing, Grover?" he demanded. Ziggy opened his eyes to gaze stonily at the man. "I think I'm going to meet my fiancé and go to my party." He replied, his voice hard.

"I meant in there!" Hanzil shouted, making him close his eyes again. "It was a valid proposal. You undermined me in front of all my colleges!"

Ziggy snapped his eyes back open to glare at the man and when he spoke, his voice was frost-covered durasteel. "First of, I was doing my job. It was a stupid proposal and I don't want to know what you were on when you thought it up. Second of, the only one undermining you is yourself. Arguing with me, someone 20 years your junior, in public, in front of the press, because your sore loser, isn't going to help you." He watched as the man glanced towards the reporters lining the steps and looked across himself. While most of them were talking to several of the other councilors, a few had realized there was a confrontation between two of the councilors, one of which just happened to be the whole city's favorite media star. Normally, Ziggy hated that title; right now, he loved it.

He looked behind him when he felt Dillon arrive and grinned slightly. Dillon laid a hand on his shoulder but kept his gaze on Hanzil, his stance protective and threatening all at once. "Ready to go, Zig?" he asked. Ziggy nodded and turned back to the other councilor. "Have a good day, Councilor Hanzil." He said before he turned to go.

Ziggy was well aware that Hanzil had a temper but he really wasn't expecting the man to grab his arm. "Now listen hear, Grover-" He started to say, which was just about as far as he got before Dillon reacted and grabbed his collar, glaring at him. "Let him go." Dillon ordered, his voice cold. Ziggy stared back at the man, trying not to wince from the tight grip on his arm or recoil into Dillon for protection. Neither reaction would do him any good.

Hanzil paled and abruptly let him go. Ziggy snatched his arm back, curling it tight against his chest. Dillon didn't let the older man go. "Call of your guard dog, Grover." The man ordered. Ziggy tilted his head to the side and told him. "I should just let him beat your face in." But he reached out and tapped Dillon's arm all the same. It took a second but Dillon did let the man go, stepping back reluctantly. He obviously wanted to hurt the man.

"I hope you enjoyed your position on the council, Mr. Hanzil." He told him, voice steadier then he thought it would be. "I don't think you'll have it past today." Then he slid his eyes very pointedly towards the shocked press standing on the steps with them. Hanzil, if possible, paled further. Ziggy smiled rather pleasantly at the man and turned away. "Let's go Dillon. We have a party to get to."

Dillon jogged after him quietly, opening the door for him. Ziggy gave him a warm smile for the move and slid in. The minute the door was closed, he dropped any pretenses of power and control and slumped against the seat. Dillon slid into the driver's seat and looked over at him. "We can skip the party and head home if you want." He suggested. Ziggy shook his head and made a weary motion with his hand. "Let's just go to the party. I'll be fine."

Dillon gave him another considering look but drove to the park like they'd arranged. "You okay?" he asked. Ziggy sighed and rubbed his temples, leaning his head against the window. "Fine." He replied. "Today of all days." He whispered to himself. Dillon shifted and reached over, running his hand carefully through his hair. Ziggy leaned into the touch, smiling just softly.

"You should quit. You come home half the time with a headache and you're always so tense." Dillon advised. Ziggy sighed again, sliding his eyes open from when they'd slid shut. "Maybe I should. I'm still convinced I had taken a leave of my senses when I agreed to join that council." He drew back, thoughtful. "I could help you run the dojo. You keep getting more and more kids in. Think if I stop being on the council the press will leave me alone?" he asked quietly.

Dillon snorted and used his now free hand to reach into the back seat, pulling out a magazine. "This was dropped off at your house today." He said, handing it to him. Ziggy took it, sighing when he recognized the magazine as one of the more popular ones. And the one that likes to stalk him. He recognized the front photo though. It pictured the entire Ranger team plus Tenaya. They'd all posed for it last month when the magazine had wanted to do an article on them for the anniversary of the end of the war. He flipped through it briefly, wanting to look at it. Then he paused and looked a bit more carefully. "They were only supposed to do an article. Not an entire issue." He said dully, wondering why he was surprised.

Dillon shrugged one shoulder. "You know, I looked through it. If you combined yours, mine, and Tenaya's sections, we take up more than half that issue." He said.

"What are they calling us this month?" he asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer. "The Royal Three." Dillon replied. Ziggy groaned and shook his head, but continued to look through the magazine.

So much had changed in a year. For some reason Ziggy could no longer remember, he had agreed to be on the council. He still hated politics and as he'd feared, he was damn good at them. Most days he did come home horribly tense and usually had a headache but the city was still standing, so he thought he had to be doing something right. The city, it seemed, had fallen in love with him sometime during the year, first because he'd helped save them, then because of his work on the council, and now because they apparently thought he had a fairytale life. Dillon had started a small dojo in order to help keep kids off the streets and out of the gangs. It had started out small but once the press had learned of it, Dillon kept going more kids in then he knew what to do with. He was starting to get overwhelmed but Ziggy could tell he enjoyed it. Two months after the war, Dillon had found a nice, two story, two-bedroom house near the center of the city and had bought it immediately. The two of them, plus Tenaya had been moved in within two weeks; a record, he believed. Four months after that, he had proposed. They'd been engaged ever since although they still hadn't set a date for the wedding.

Tenaya had become, of all things, a rock star. He blamed it on K, really, for always playing that damn violin. Eventually, Tenaya had decided to learn music as well, as she could have something more to talk about with her then just friend besides science. She was actually pretty good. She had gotten a boyfriend somewhere during the mess of the publishing of her first album. It had lasted for a few months but hadn't ended well. The only good thing the guy had ever done was teach Tenaya how to play guitar, which she had proven to be a genius at. Her hands by now had become permanently callused, the skin on her fingertips rough and torn from her constant playing. Her second album, which the Corinth radio seemed determined to wear out with how much they played it, had come out a month after the break up, mostly focusing on her getting over him. A few songs had been peppered through though that had at the time been about how she didn't need him when she had the team but, in light of recent events, definitely had romantic undertones. 'According to You' had only convinced the whole city that she had been going out with K for weeks before K had kissed her. The two really had been going out with each other after that. The press was convinced that the only two people to ever have a smoother relationship were Ziggy and Dillon.

The others had all figured out their lives a bit slower. Scott had gotten the position as head of the Eagle Squad but had taken months before he could ask Summer out on a date. The relationship was going on nearly five months now. They weren't without their sore spots but they were really cute together. Sometime between Flynn had helped his dad set up their computer company and the twins had moved out of the Garage, Flynn and Gemma had gotten together. Gem hadn't exactly liked that but they had managed to get him to stop trying to kill Flynn every time the two went out. K had been the last to leave the Garage but eventually she'd found a tiny apartment a few blocks away from their house. Although, really, Ziggy couldn't figure out why she needed it. She spent half her time at their house anyways. Although Tenaya did spend no little amount of time at K's place as well.

He stopped flipping through the magazine when he found a familiar picture and smiled brightly. It was the same picture Dillon had found during his brief stay among the dead. It was his favorite photo of the three of them; that was why he had allowed the magazine to copy and use it.

He looked up when the car stopped suddenly and found them already at the park. "Ready?" Dillon asked. Ziggy nodded and threw the magazine into the backseat before following. Dillon wrapped his arm around his shoulders. After a few minutes of walking, Tenaya's voice met his ears, just hovering over the guitar strumming, "_You're too loud, I'm so hyper._

_On paper we're a disaster._

_And I'm driving you crazy._

_It's my little game."_

Tenaya was sitting on top of picnic table, guitar in her lab and a thoughtful look on her face. Ziggy didn't recognize the song at all, so it was probably one of her new ones. K was with her, helping Scott and Summer organize the food they'd brought. Flynn and the twins were off to the side but Ziggy wasn't sure what they were doing. Tenaya looked up at them and grinned. "Hey you two. Late as always." She called, making everyone look over at them. As they called out hellos, Tenaya's smile faded. "What happened to your arm, Zig?" she demanded, tone tight.

Ziggy glanced down at his arm and found the skin where Hanzil had grabbed him was red and irritated. He rubbed it self-consciously, leaning more into Dillon's embrace. "Nothing. Dillon took care of it." he replied. Tenaya continued to stare at them intensely, obviously unhappy. K appeared suddenly right next to Tenaya, holding something in her hand. She pulled the string at the end of it, causing it to explode in Tenaya's face, little streamers popping out of it. Tenaya jumped, looking down at her girlfriend in surprise.

"It's a party." K told her, completely blank faced. "Act like it."

Tenaya blinked down at the young doctor for a minute before bursting out laughing and going back to strumming on the guitar. "_This Love-Hate relationship_

_You say you can't handle it,_

_But there's no way to stop this now,_

_So shut up and kiss me!" _ She sang to herself, the words gaining her a dark look from the woman at her side. Tenaya grinned.

Ziggy smiled slightly and tugged Dillon closer, sitting down at the table. It was the anniversary of the day they'd beat Venjix and this was their party. He wasn't going to let mean old men ruin it for him.

-0-0-

Ziggy came awake all at once, his breathing harsh. He stared blankly at the far wall of the room, waiting for his latest nightmare to ease its grip on his mind. He was shaking badly and he felt so cold. He turned around on the bed and curled into Dillon's embrace, hands tightening in the thin material of the nightshirt the older man was wearing. Dillon muttered something to himself in his sleep, one arm moving to encircle his waist. Ziggy burrowed his head in Dillon neck, breathing in the spicy cologne the man was wearing and letting it, and his warmth, wrap around his mind and chase away his demons.

Ever since his powers had gone and his visions had stopped occupying his mind at night, terrible nightmares of his death haunted him. He could remember, with sickening clarity, how it had felt to die, to feel the warmth leave him and for everything to go hazy. Although the times he had the dream were becoming few and far in between, there were still nights during which he woke up in tears from it. It took him nearly half an hour to calm down well enough to realize how hard his head was pounding and that the muscles in his back were completely tense. It wasn't a headache though. Oh no. This was something completely different.

He turned around again, his gaze locking on Dillon's old watch where it was resting against his nightstand. He never went anywhere without it. He stretched out and grabbed it, pulling it close to frown down at it. "You don't learn do you?" he asked quietly. He closed his eyes and calmed his breathing. He no longer had his powers. But he didn't need them for this.

When he opened his eyes again, he was standing in Janus' Chamber of Fayth. The bit of his soul trapped in here would allow him to visit long after his powers had vanished. He glanced down at the stone that held his Fayth before turning and heading for the door. It opened for him but this time, instead of leading out to blackness, it showed a long hall, at the end of which was another door. He walked down it quickly, preferring not to stay in here for very long then waited as the doors opened. He didn't enter, just stood in the doorway and watched as another Fayth pulsed angrily.

A cold smile crossed his face. "You still think you're getting out?" He asked quietly. "You won't. No matter hard you fight, I am not letting you out." The half sphere pulsed again, a feeling of deep rage flowing through the room. Ziggy tilted his head to the side. "You want me to end it? Oh, I'm not that stupid. You're a virus. You'll always hide some place. No, I want you where I can keep an eye on you. That's why, no matter how hard you fight, how you struggle, you won't get free." He turned to leave then paused and looked back. "Just give it up. I told Scott you and Janus would cancel each other out. And you will. You can't get out of here anymore than he can. The world will end again before you do." He paused again then smiled pleasantly. His words were sarcastic when he said, "As long as you're sleeping then, have good dreams, Venjix." That said, he turned and let the door close behind him, shutting the virus in.

He hadn't lied. Not really. He never said he was going to destroy Venjix, just promised that it would never bother them again. And Venjix wouldn't. It would prove a useless effort to destroy a virus of all things, so he trapped it inside the watch, his eternal prisoner.

He closed his eyes again, only to open them and find himself back in his and Dillon's bedroom. He threw the watch back onto the nightstand then snuggled back into Dillon's arms. Dillon groaned and opened one eye to look down at him. "You alright?" he asked. "More bad dreams?" Ziggy smiled and shook his head.

"I'm alright. Go back to sleep." Dillon continued to gaze at him for a minute before closing his eyes and hugging him tightly to him.

"Love you Zig." Dillon whispered, his breath ruffling the younger male's hair. Ziggy smiled softly and repeated the sentiment, letting himself drift off.

The past year had been different. He kept waiting for alarms to go off, telling him and the other Rangers that Venjix was attacking again. They never did though. He still had to fight to break most of the habits he'd built from over two years of fighting the machines. But it was nice, after a while. Peaceful. He liked it. He didn't want it to change.

Maybe the city was right. Maybe his life was kind of like a fairytale.


End file.
